MondayJan 05, 2026
Quotes: 53419 Authors: 9969
William Makepeace Thackeray was an English novelist of the 19th century. He was famous for his satirical works, particularly Vanity Fair , a panoramic portrait of English society.
Might I give counsel to any man, I would say to him, try to frequent the company of your betters. In books and in life, that is the most wholesome society; learn to admire rightly; the great pleasure of life is that. Note what great men admire.
How hard it is to make an Englishman acknowledge that he is happy! Pendennis. Book ii. Chap. xxxi.
Ho, pretty page, with the dimpled chin That never has known the barbers shear, All your wish is woman to win, This is the way that boys begin. Wait till you come to Forty Year.
Never marry with the expectation of changing a person.
Good humor is one of the best articles of dress one can wear in society.
Attacking is the only secret. Dare and the world always yields; or if it beats you sometimes, dare it again and it will succumb.
Christmas is here: Winds whistle shrill, Icy and chill. Little care we; Little we fear Weather without, Sheltered about The Mahogany Tree.
Bravery never goes out of fashion.
The world is a looking glass and gives back to every man the reflection of his own face. Frown at it, and it will look sourly upon; laugh at it and with it, and it is a jolly, kind companion.
Then sing as Martin Luther sang, As Doctor Martin Luther sang, 'Who loves not wine, woman and song, He is a fool his whole life long.'
To endure is greater than to dare; to tire out hostile fortune; to be daunted by no difficulty;to keep heart when all have lost it; to go through intrigue spotless;to forego even ambition when the end is gained who can say this is not greatness?
When I say that I know women, I mean I know that I dont know them. Every single woman I ever knew is a puzzle to me, as, I have no doubt, she is to herself.
Werther had a love for Charlotte Such as words could never utter; Would you know how first he met her? She was cutting bread and butter.
Oh, Vanity of vanities! How wayward the decrees of Fate are; How very weak the very wise, How very small the very great are!
We know that Heaven chastens those whom it loves best; being pleased by repeated trials, to make ... pure spirits more pure.
The play is done; the curtain drops, Slow falling to the prompters bell A moment yet the actor stops And looks around to say farewell. It is an irksome word and task: And when hes laughed and said his say He shows, as he removes the mask, A face thats anything but gay.
Sir, Respect Your Dinner: idolize it, enjoy it properly. You will be many hours in the week, many weeks in the year, and many years in your life happier if you do.
The true pleasure of life is to live with your inferiors.
The wicked are wicked, no doubt, and they go astray and they fall, and they come by their deserts; but who can tell the mischief which the very virtuous do?
Remember, it is as easy to marry a rich woman as a poor woman.
Tis strange what a man may do, and a woman yet think him an angel.
We love being in love, thats the truth ont.
Whenever he met a great man he groveled before him, and my-lorded him as only a free-born Briton can do.
Our great thoughts, our great affections, the truths of our life, never leave us. Surely they can not separate from our consciousness, shall follow it whithersoever that shall go, and are of their nature divine and immortal.
The world is a looking-glass, and gives back to every man the reflection of his own face. Frown at it, and it in turn will look sourly at you; laugh at it, and with it, and it is a jolly, kind companion.
Fashnable fax and polite annygoats.
It's not dying for faith that's so hard, it's living up to it
Although I enter not, Yet round about the spot Ofttimes I hover; And near the sacred gate With longing eyes I wait, Expectant of her.
Tis not the dying for a faith thats so hard, Master Harryevery man of every nation has done thattis the living up to it that is difficult.
When I walk with you I feel as if I had a flower in my buttonhole.
Charlotte, having seen his body Borne before her on a shutter, Like a well-conducted person, Went on cutting bread and butter.
Nature has written a letter of credit upon some men's faces that is honored wherever presented. You cannot help trusting such men. Their very presence gives confidence. There is 'promise to pay' in their faces which gives confidence and you prefer it to another man's endorsement. Character is credit.
No business before breakfast, Glum! says the King. Breakfast first, business next.
The two most engaging powers of an author are t make new things familiar and familiar things new.
This I set down as a positive truth. A woman with fair opportunities and without a positive hump, may marry whom she likes.
The world is a looking glass, and gives back to every man the reflection of his own face. Frown at it and it will in turn look sourly upon you; laugh at it and with it, and it is a jolly kind companion.
A good laugh is sunshine in a house.
Humor is wit and love.
If you take temptations into account, who is to say that he is better than his neighbor?
It is best to love wisely, no doubt; But to love foolishly is better than not to be able to love at all.
It is from the level of calamities, not that of every-day life, that we learn impressive and useful lessons.
Life is the soul's nursery - its training place for the destinies of eternity.
Next to excellence is the appreciation of it.
We have only to change the point of view And the greatest action looks mean.
+Tis not the dying for a faith that's so hard, Master Harry - every man of every nation has done that - 'tis the living up to it that is difficult.
And this I set down as a positive truth. A woman with fair opportunities, and without an absolute hump may marry whom she likes.
I think I could be a good woman if I had five thousand a year.
Them's my sentiments!
Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of children.
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