Jean de La Bruyère - Wit Quotes

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It is a great misfortune not to have enough wit to speak well, or not enough judgment to keep silent.

Jean de La Bruyère

It is a sad thing when men have neither the wit to speak well, nor the judgment to hold their tongues.

Jean de La Bruyère

Making a book is a craft, as is making a clock; it takes more than wit to become an author.

Jean de La Bruyère

The art of conversation consists less in showing one's own wit than in giving opportunity for the display of the wit of others.

Jean de La Bruyère

Criticism is often not a science; it is a craft, requiring more good health than wit, more hard work than talent, more habit than native genius. In the hands of a man who has read widely but lacks judgment, applied to certain subjects it can corrupt both its readers and the writer himself.

Jean de La Bruyère

The true spirit of conversation consists more in bringing out the cleverness of others than in showing a great deal of it yourself; he who goes away pleased with himself and his own wit is also greatly pleased with you. Most men would rather please than admire you; they seek less to be instructed, and even to be amused, than to be praised and applauded.

Jean de La Bruyère