"Everyone calls himself a friend, but only a fool relies on it; nothing is commoner than the name, nothing rarer than the thing."

Jean de La Fontaine Literature See all quotes by Jean de La Fontaine →

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More by Jean de La Fontaine

“We then saw what St. Jerome said of those who serve God and those who serve the world: "Each to the other we seem insane": Invicem insanire videmur. There is a never-ending duel between the two.”

“To live lightheartedly but not recklessly; to be gay without being boisterous; to be courageous without being bold; to show trust and cheerful resignation without fatalism — this is the art of living.”

“Everyone believes very easily whatever they fear or desire.”

“People must help one another; it is nature's law.”

“No path of flowers leads to glory.”

“They are too green", he said, "and only good for fools.”

Resonant Thoughts

"For it is no longer possible to regard Fascism as the friend of Christianity. And in making a cultural treaty with Hitler, Franco has laid Spain wide open to the penetration of Nazi ideology, which ha…"

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— Bill Thompson

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"A legal code that protects the prerogatives of the owners and is officially respected is another element."

— Richard Sandbrook

Economics1946–2005

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"The life of the honest man must be an apostasy and a perpetual desertion. The honest man must be a perpetual renegade, the life of an honest man must be a perpetual infidelity. For the man who wishes …"

— Charles Péguy

Literature1873–1914

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