Quotes by Charles Caleb Colton

Times of general calamity and confusion have ever been productive of the greatest minds. The purist ore is produced from the hottest furnace and the brightest thunderbolt is elicited from the darkest storms.

There are three modes of bearing the ills of life: by indifference by philosophy and by religion.

Ennui has made more gamblers than avarice more drunkards than thirst and perhaps as many suicides as despair.

Physical courage which despises all danger will make a man brave in one way and moral courage which despises all opinion will make a man brave in another. The former would seem most necessary for the camp the latter for the council but to constitute a great man both are necessary.

That cowardice is incorrigible which the love of power cannot overcome.

Courage is generosity of the highest order for the brave are prodigal of the most precious things.

He that has energy enough to root out a vice should go further and try to plant a virtue in its place.

Body and mind like man and wife do not always agree to die together.

Human foresight often leaves its proudest possessor only a choice of evils.

Pedantry crams our heads with learned lumber and takes out brains to make room for it.

True contentment depends not upon what we have a tub was large enough for Diogenes but a world was too little for Alexander.

Never join with your friend when he abuses his horse or his wife unless the one is to be sold and the other to be buried.

Friendship often ends in love but love in friendship - never.

The firmest friendships have been formed in mutual adversity as iron is most strongly united by the fiercest flame.

True friendship is like sound health the value of it is seldom known until it be lost.

Most of our misfortunes are comments of our friends upon them.

A windmill is eternally at work to accomplish one end although it shifts with every variation of the weathercock and assumes ten different positions in a day.

Happiness ... leads none of us by the same route.

To be obliged to beg our daily happiness from others bespeaks a more lamentable poverty than that of him who begs his daily bread.

The man of pleasure by a vain attempt to be more happy than any man can be is often more miserable than most men.