William Hazlitt
William Hazlitt
William Hazlittwas an English writer, drama and literary critic, painter, social commentator, and philosopher. He is now considered one of the greatest critics and essayists in the history of the English language, placed in the company of Samuel Johnson and George Orwell. He is also acknowledged as the finest art critic of his age. Despite his high standing among historians of literature and art, his work is currently little read and mostly out of print...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionCritic
Date of Birth10 April 1778
time independent all-things
Time,--the most independent of all things.
delight fables
As we are poetical in our natures, so we delight in fable.
envy justice mind
Popularity disarms envy in well-disposed minds. Those are ever the most ready to do justice to others who feel that the world has done them justice. When success has not this effect in opening the mind, it is a sign that it has been ill deserved.
blow roots giving
Nothing gives such a blow to friendship as the detecting another in an untruth. It strikes at the root of our confidence ever after.
grief littles bears
The truth is, we pamper little griefs into great ones, and bear great ones as well as we can.
sacrifice long matter
We would willingly, and without remorse, sacrifice not only the present moment, but all the interval (no matter how long) that separates us from any favorite object.
poverty tests civility
Poverty is the test of civility and the touchstone of friendship.
poverty aspect despicable
Poverty, when it is voluntary, is never despicable, but takes an heroical aspect.
fool knaves wells
I am always afraid of a fool. One cannot be sure that he is not a knave as well.
passion principles
Principle is a passion for truth.
moving men intellectual
Men of gravity are intellectual stammerers, whose thoughts move slowly.
genius monument behinds
Genius only leaves behind it the monuments of its strength.
expression ideas presence-of-mind
The expression of a gentleman's face is not so much that of refinement, as of flexibility, not of sensibility and enthusiasm as of indifference; it argues presence of mind rather than enlargement of ideas.
reflection gentleman looks
The look of a gentleman is little else than the reflection of the looks of the world.