Johann Kaspar Lavater (1741 – 1801)
Swiss poet and physiognomist.
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Where there is much pretension, much has been borrowed: nature never pretends.
Who in the same given time can produce more than others has vigor; who can produce more and better, has talents; who can produce what none else can, has genius.
Say not you know another entirely, till you have divided an inheritance with him.
Never tell evil of a man, if you do not know it for certainty, and if you know it for a certainty, then ask yourself, 'Why should I tell it?'
Let none turn over books, or roam the stars in quest of God, who sees him not in man.
Have you ever seen a pedant with a warm heart?
If you see one cold and vehement at the same time, set him down for a fanatic.
If you mean to know yourself, interline such of these aphorisms as affect you agreeably in reading, and set a mark to such as left a sense of uneasiness with you; and then show your copy to whom you please.
Trust not him with your secrets, who, when left alone in your room, turns over your papers.
The public seldom forgive twice.
Act well at the moment, and you have performed a good action to all eternity.
Neatness begets order; but from order to taste there is the same difference as from taste to genius, or from love to friendship.
Venerate four characters: the sanguine who has checked volatility and the rage for pleasure; the choleric who has subdued passion and pride; the phlegmatic emerged from indolence; and the melancholy who has dismissed avarice, suspicion and asperity.
You may tell a man thou art a fiend, but not your nose wants blowing; to him alone who can bear a thing of that kind, you may tell all.
Him, who incessantly laughs in the street, you may commonly hear grumbling in his closet.
He who, when called upon to speak a disagreeable truth, tells it boldly and has done is both bolder and milder than he who nibbles in a low voice and never ceases nibbling.
The more honesty a man has, the less he affects the air of a saint.
Happy the heart to whom God has given enough strength and courage to suffer for Him, to find happiness in simplicity and the happiness of others.
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