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
ignorance evil world
The ignorance of the world leaves one at the mercy of its malice.
self-esteem thinking people
The most silent people are generally those who think most highly of themselves.
exercise thinking ideas
The idea of what the public will think prevents the public from ever thinking at all, and acts as a spell on the exercise of private judgment.
vanity merit opinion
We prefer ourselves to others, only because we a have more intimate consciousness and confirmed opinion of our own claims and merits than of any other person's.
journey men long
A man knows his companion in a long journey and a little inn.
opinion slave
We are all of us, more or less, the slaves of opinion.
passion essence poetry-is
The essence of poetry is will and passion.
able way rooms
Without the aid of prejudice and custom, I should not be able to find my way across the room.
friendship true-friend fear
He will never have true friends who is afraid of making enemies.
wise men idiot
There is no one thoroughly despicable. We cannot descend much lower than an idiot; and an idiot has some advantages over a wise man.
positive running men
The mind of man is like a clock that is always running down, and requires to be constantly wound up.
graves advantage should
A grave blockhead should always go about with a lively one - they show one another off to the best advantage.
hope lows hoping-for-the-best
Hope is the best possession. None are completely wretched but those who are without hope. Few are reduced so low as that.
perfection stealth approach
No one ever approaches perfection except by stealth, and unknown to themselves.