Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton Quotes
How many of us have been attracted to reason; first learned to think, to draw conclusions, to extract a moral from the follies of life, by some dazzling aphorism.
The conscience is the most flexible material in the world. Today you cannot stretch it over a mole hill; while tomorrow it can hide a mountain.
He who writes prose builds his temple to Fame in rubble; he who writes verses builds it in granite.
Genius is but fine observation strengthened by fixity of purpose.
Men are valued, not for what they are, but for what they seem to be.
A fresh mind keeps the body fresh. Take in the ideas of the day, drain off those of yesterday.
A good cigar is as great a comfort to a man as a good cry to a woman.
Punctuality is the stern virtue of men of business, and the graceful courtesy of princes.
Love has no thought of self! Love buys not with the ruthless usurer's gold The loathsome prostitution of a hand Without a heart! Love sacrifices all things To bless the thing it loves!
Enthusiasm is the genius of sincerity and truth accomplishes no victories without it
Archaeology is not only the hand maid of history, it is also the conservator of art.
Patience is not passive; on the contrary, it is active; it is concentrated strength.
There is no man so friendless but that he can find a friend sincere enough to tell him disagreeable truths.
The Italians have voices like peacocks - German gives me a cold in the head - and Russian is nothing but sneezing
A pipe is the fountain of contemplation, the source of pleasure, the companion of the wise; and the man who smokes, thinks like a philosopher and acts like a Samaritan.
When you talk to the half-wise, twaddle; when you talk to the ignorant, brag; when you talk to the sagacious, look very humble and ask their opinion.
Anger ventilated often hurries towards forgiveness; anger concealed often hardens into revenge.
Patience is the courage of the conqueror, the strength of man against destiny.
The world thinks eccentricity in great things is genius, but in small things, only crazy.
The secret of fashion is to surprise and never to disappoint.
Say what we will, we may be sure that ambition is an error. Its wear and tear on the heart are never recompensed.
What ever our wandering our happiness will always be found within a narrow compass, and in the middle of the objects more immediately within our reach.
Our glories float between the earth and heaven Like clouds which seem pavilions of the sun, And are the playthings of the casual wind.
The desire of excellence is the necessary attribute of those who excel. We work little for a thing unless we wish for it.
When a person is down in the world, an ounce of help is better than a pound of preaching.
It is not by the gray of the hair that one knows the age of the heart.
The same refinement which brings us new pleasures exposes us to new pains.
There's no weapon that slays its victim so surely (if well aimed) as praise.
Business dispatched is business well done, but business hurried is business ill done.
A reform is a correction of abuses; a revolution is a transfer of power.
It is difficult to say who do you the most mischief, enemies with the worst intentions, or friends with the best.
The prudent person may direct a state, but it is the enthusiast who regenerates or ruins it
In these days half our diseases come from neglect of the body in overwork of the brain.
There is nothing so agonizing to the fine skin of vanity as the application of a rough truth.
To dispense with ceremony is the most delicate mode of conferring a compliment.
If you are in doubt whether to write a letter or not, don't. And the advice applies to many doubts in life besides that of letter writing.
I would rather have five energetic and competent enemies than one fool friend.