We would often rather seem ...

We would often rather seem dutiful to others than to succeed in our duties; and often we would rather tell our friends that we have done them good than to do good in actuality.
We would often rather seem dutiful to others than to succeed in our duties; and often we would rather tell our friends that we have done them good than to do good in actuality.
 Madeleine de Souvre, marquise de Sable

More phrases

All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope.
 See image
 Winston Churchill
I know but one freedom and that is the freedom of the mind.
 See image
 Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Freedom is not worth having if it does not connote freedom to err.
 See image
 Mahatma Gandhi
The amount of happiness that you have depends on the amount of freedom you have in your heart.
 See image
 Thích Nhất Hạnh
Without freedom of thought, there can be no such thing as wisdom - and no such thing as public liberty without freedom of speech.
 See image
 Benjamin Franklin

Quotes from the same author

There is a certain imperiousness, in the manner of speaking and in actions, which makes itself felt everywhere, and soon wins attention and respect. This commanding quality is useful in all affairs, and even for obtaining what we ask for.
 See image
 Madeleine de Souvre, marquise de Sable
Mean-spirited mediocrities, especially those with a smattering of learning, are the most likely to be opinionated. Only strong minds know how to correct their opinions and abandon a bad position.
 See image
 Madeleine de Souvre, marquise de Sable
There is a certain hidden mediocrity in those who are stationed above us in life, an ability to take liberties in their pursuit of pleasures and diversions, without injuring the honor and respect we owe to them.
 See image
 Madeleine de Souvre, marquise de Sable
Often the desire to appear competent impedes our ability to become competent, because we more anxious to display our knowledge than to learn what we do not know.
 See image
 Madeleine de Souvre, marquise de Sable
There is nothing that does not have something perfect in it; and it is the happiness of good taste to be able to find this perfection in all things. But there is a natural malignity that often discovers a vice in the midst of several virtues, in order to reveal and proclaim the discovery to all the world - a quality that is more the mark of a naturally evil temperament than a superior sense of discrimination. And it is truly an evil lot, to pass one's life always feeding off the imperfections of others.
 See image
 Madeleine de Souvre, marquise de Sable