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
carriage existence graceful heard indebted nose scarcely whose
A person may be indebted for a nose or an eye, for a graceful carriage or a voluble discourse, to a great-aunt or uncle, whose existence he has scarcely heard of.
books certain enjoyment high imagine leaves open spirit time wears worse
One would imagine that books were, like women, the worse for being old : that they open their leaves more cordially; that the spirit of enjoyment wears out with the spirit of novelty; and that after a certain age, it is high time to put them on the s
comedy constantly destroys exposing follies food itself laughing leaves mankind naturally weaknesses wears worth
Comedy naturally wears itself out -- destroys the very food on which it lives; and by constantly and successfully exposing the follies and weaknesses of mankind to ridicule, in the end leaves itself nothing worth laughing at.
generally sayings
His sayings are generally like women's letters; all the pith is in the postscript
events hand rid work
A man's look is the work of years; it is stamped on his countenance by the events of his whole life, nay, more by the hand of nature, and it is not to be got rid of easily.
actual alone ignorance monsters
Ignorance alone makes monsters or bug-bears; our actual acquaintances are all very common-place people.
choice man virtue
A man must make his choice not only between virtue and vice, but between different virtues.
friend
It is well that there is no one without a fault; for he would not have a friend in the world
work
When I take up a work that I have read before (the oftener the better) I know what I have to expect. The satisfaction is not lessened by being anticipated.
afraid animal greatest ungrateful
There is not a more mean, stupid, dastardly, pitiful, selfish, spiteful, envious, ungrateful animal than the Public. It is the greatest of cowards, for it is afraid of itself.
afraid animal greatest ungrateful
There is no more mean, stupid, dastardly, pitiful, selfish, spiteful, envious, ungrateful animal than the Public. It is the greatest of cowards, for it is afraid of itself.
drive likely mad preference truth
There is nothing more likely to drive a person mad than . . . an obstinate, constitutional preference of the truth to the agreeable.
against beware branded degrading exercise idol liable power render rests themselves turns
The power rests with the multitude, but let them beware how the exercise of it turns against their own rights! It is not the idol but the worshippers that are to be dreaded, and who, by degrading one of their fellows, render themselves liable to be branded with the same indignities.
cease manner until
We never do anything well until we cease to think about the manner of doing it