Charles Caleb Colton Quotes (1777-1832)

Explore our curated collection of the most famous and impactful Charles Caleb Colton quotes.

“We ask advice, but we mean approbation.”

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advice

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“Imitation is the sincerest of flattery.”

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imitationflattery

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“Friendship often ends in love; but love in friendship—never.”

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lovefriendship

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“A feast is more fatal to love than a fast, and a surfeit than a starvation.”

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starvation

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“Applause is the spur of noble minds, the end and aim of weak ones.”

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applause

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“Pedantry crams our heads with learned lumber, and takes out our brains to make room for it.”

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pedantry

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“To sentence a man of true genius to the drudgery of a school, is to put a race horse in a mill.”

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genius

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“We often pretend to fear what we really despise, and more often to despise what we really fear.”

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despise

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“He that sympathizes in all the happiness of others, perhaps himself enjoys the safest happiness.”

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happiness

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“Deliberate with caution, but act with decision; and yield with graciousness, or oppose with firmness.”

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“That writer does the most, who gives his reader the most knowledge, and takes from him the least time.”

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knowledge

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“Pedantry prides herself on being wrong by rules; while common sense is contented to be right, without them.”

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pedantry

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“If you would be known, and not know, vegetate in a village; If you would know, and not be known, live in a city.”

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“Men will wrangle for religion, write for it, fight for it, die for it; anything but live for it.”

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religion

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“An elegant writer has observed, that wit may do very well for a mistress, but that he should prefer reason for a wife.”

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“It is always safe to learn, even from our enemies, seldom safe to venture to instruct, even our friends.”

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enemies

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“No man can purchase his virtue too dear, for it is the only thing whose value must ever increase with the price it has cost us.”

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virtue

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“If you cannot inspire a woman with love of you, fill her above the brim with love of herself;— all that runs over will be yours.”

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love

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“We should have a glorious conflagration, if all who cannot put fire into their works would only consent to put their works into the fire.”

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fire

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“Many a man may thank his talent for his rank, but no man has ever been able to return the compliment by thanking his rank for his talent.”

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talentrankman

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“Many books require no thought from those who read them, and for a very simple reason; they made no such demand upon those who wrote them.”

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thought

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“Examinations are formidable even to the best prepared, for the greatest fool may ask more than the wisest man can answer.”

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“Liberty will not descend to a people, a people must raise themselves to liberty; it is a blessing that must be earned before it can be enjoyed.”

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liberty

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“When you have nothing to say, say nothing; a weak defense strengthens your opponent, and silence is less injurious than a bad reply.”

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“With books, as with companions, it is of more consequence to know which to avoid, than which to choose; for good books are as scarce as good companions.”

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books

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Charles Caleb Colton Quotes by Topic

Find exactly what you are looking for by browsing this categorized list of Charles Caleb Colton quotes by topic.

Charles Caleb Colton on Friendship 2 quotes

“True friendship is like sound health; the value of it is seldom known until it be lost.”

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friendshiphealth

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View all 2 quotes on Friendship →

Charles Caleb Colton on Despise 2 quotes

“We often pretend to fear what we really despise, and more often despise what we really fear.”

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despise

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View all 2 quotes on Despise →

Charles Caleb Colton on Flattery

“Imitation is the sincerest of flattery.”

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imitationflattery

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Charles Caleb Colton on Imitation

“Imitation is the sincerest of flattery.”

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imitationflattery

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Charles Caleb Colton on Time

“Time,— that black and narrow isthmus between two eternities.”

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Charles Caleb Colton on Applause

“Applause is the spur of noble minds, the end and aim of weak ones.”

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applause

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Charles Caleb Colton on Vanity

“Applause is the spur of noble minds, the end and aim of weak ones.”

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applause

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Charles Caleb Colton on Choice

“Life often presents us with a choice of evils, rather than of goods.”

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choice

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Charles Caleb Colton on Action

“Our actions must clothe us with an immortality loathsome or glorious.”

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immortality

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Charles Caleb Colton on Marriage

“Marriage is a feast where the grace is sometimes better than the dinner.”

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marriage

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Charles Caleb Colton on Reputation

“The two most precious things this side the grave are our reputation and our life.”

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reputation

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Charles Caleb Colton on Anger

“The sun should not set upon our anger, neither should he rise upon our confidence.”

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confidence

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What Charles Caleb Colton Said About Others

Discover personal opinions Charles Caleb Colton shared regarding contemporaries.

Charles Caleb Colton on Women

“Ladies of fashion starve their happiness to feed their vanity, and their love to feed their pride.”

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happinessfashion

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