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
satisfied prove
We are not satisfied to be right, unless we can prove others to be quite wrong.
pain power pleasure
Power is pleasure; and pleasure sweetens pain.
prejudice easy reason
Prejudice is never easy unless it can pass itself off for reason.
religion cloaks
The garb of religion is the best cloak for power.
moon views moonlight
He who would see old Hoghton right Must view it by the pale moonlight.
lasts causes heroism
Whatever excites the spirit of contradiction is capable of producing the last effects of heroism; which is only the highest pitch of obstinacy, in a good or bad cause, in wisdom or folly.
landscape painting misanthropy
Landscape painting is the obvious resource of misanthropy.
echoes voice sound
The public is so in awe of its own opinion that it never dares to form any, but catches up the first idle rumour, lest it should be behindhand in its judgment, and echoes it till it is deafened with the sound of its own voice.
luxury poverty rich
Poverty, labor, and calamity are not without their luxuries, which the rich, the indolent, and the fortunate in vain seek for.
secrecy misfortunes
Keep your misfortunes to yourself.
world reason said
One said he wondered that leather was not dearer than any other thing. Being demanded a reason: because, saith he, it is more stood upon than any other thing in the world.
faults titles details
The title of Ultracrepidarian critics has been given to those persons who find fault with small and insignificant details.
hypocrite hypocrisy
Asleep, nobody is a hypocrite
religious men mind
The same reason makes a man a religious enthusiast that makes a man an enthusiast in any other way ... an uncomfortable mind in an uncomfortable body.