Johann Kaspar Lavater
Johann Kaspar Lavater
Johann KasparLavaterwas a Swiss poet, writer, philosopher, physiognomist and theologian...
NationalityGerman
ProfessionTheologian
Date of Birth15 November 1741
CountryGermany
causes reason love-wisdom
Truth, wisdom, love, seek reasons; malice only seeks causes.
mediocrity half talent
Half talent is no talent.
humble say-anything would-be
Modesty is silent when it would be improper to speak; the humble, without being called upon, never recollects to say anything of himself.
philosophy calm patient
True philosophy is that which renders us to ourselves, and all others who surround us, better, and at the same time more content, more patient, more calm and more ready for all decent and pure enjoyment.
men invisible relation
What knowledge is there of which man is capable that is not founded on the exterior,--the relation that exists between visible and invisible, the perceptible and the imperceptible?
faces sanctity piety
The affectation of sanctity is a blotch on the face of piety.
self way smooth
The policy of adapting one's self to circumstances makes all ways smooth.
grief character joy
Who partakes in another's joys is a more humane character than he who partakes in his griefs.
smart giving biting
Beware of biting jests; the more truth they carry with them, the greater wounds they give, the greater smarts they cause, and the greater scars they leave behind them.
forgiveness distance forgiving
Receive no satisfaction for premeditated impertinence; forget it, forgive it, but keep him inexorably at a distance who offered it.
forgiveness embrace divine
There is a manner of forgiveness so divine that you are ready to embrace the offender for having called it forth.
genius proportion vulgar
The proportion of genius to the vulgar is like one to a million.
silence style may
A gift--its kind, its value and appearance; the silence or the pomp that attends it; the style in which it reaches you--may decide the dignity or vulgarity of the giver.
giving trifles
Who gives a trifle meanly is meaner than the trifle.