“ Idleness, languishing as she is, does not often fail in being mistress; she usurps authority over all the plans and actions of life; imperceptibly consuming and destroying both passions and virtues. ”
François de La Rochefoucauld, Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims (1665). copy citation
| Author | François de La Rochefoucauld |
|---|---|
| Source | Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims |
| Topic | idleness action |
| Date | 1665 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by J. W. Willis Bund |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/9105/9105-h/9105-h.htm |
Context
“["Stiff in opinion, always in the wrong." Dryden, Absalom And Achitophel{, line 547}.]
266.—We deceive ourselves if we believe that there are violent passions like ambition and love that can triumph over others. Idleness, languishing as she is, does not often fail in being mistress; she usurps authority over all the plans and actions of life; imperceptibly consuming and destroying both passions and virtues.
267.—A quickness in believing evil without having sufficiently examined it, is the effect of pride and laziness. We wish to find the guilty, and we do not wish to trouble ourselves in examining the crime.”
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