30 Paramount Quotes by William Makepeace Thackeray
William Makepeace Thackeray (born July 18, 1811, Calcutta, India – died December 24, 1863, London, England) was an English novelist, poet, and illustrator, mainly known for his satirical works.
Some of Thackeray’s notable works include The Luck of Barry Lyndon (1844; adapted for film as Barry Lyndon by Stanley Kubrick in 1975), The Book of Snobs (1848), Pendennis (1848–50), The History of Henry Esmond (1852), The Newcomes (1854–55), and The Virginians (1857–59). His most famous and readable work is the novel Vanity Fair (1847–48).
Although Thackeray’s reputation has been declining since the 19th century, Vanity Fair has retained its place as one of the best novels in the English language.
Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children.Chapter XXXVII. A Family in a Very Small Way, Vanity Fair (1848)
To love and win is the best thing, to love and lose is the next best.Chapter XL. Relates to Mr. Harry Foker's Affairs, The History of Pendennis (1850)
A good laugh is sunshine in a house.On Love, Marriage, Men, and Women, in Sketches and Travels in London or Mr. Brown's Letters (1853)
The world is a looking-glass, and gives back to every man the reflection of his own face. Frown at it, and it will in turn look sourly upon you; laugh at it and with it, and it is a jolly kind companion.Chapter II. In Which Miss Sharp and Miss Sedley Prepare to Open the Campaign, Vanity Fair (1848)
I would rather make my name than inherit it.Chapter XXVI. In which we are at a very Great Distance from Oakhurst, The Virginians (1859)
If a man’s character is to be abused, say what you will, there’s nobody like a relative to do the business.Chapter XIX. Miss Crawley at Nurse, Vanity Fair (1848)
Good humour may be said to be one of the very best articles of dress one can wear in society.Mr. Brown's Letters to a Young Man about Town, in Sketches and Travels in London or Mr. Brown's Letters (1853)
It is best to love wisely, no doubt: but to love foolishly is better than not to be able to love at all.Chapter VI. Contains both Love and War, The History of Pendennis (1850)
I never know whether to pity or congratulate a man on coming to his senses.hapter LVI. Ariadne, The Virginians (1859)
It is the ordinary lot of people to have no friends if they themselves care for nobody.Chapter XIV. Miss Crawley at Home, Vanity Fair (1848)
People hate, as they love, unreasonably.Chapter LVI. Rosa quo locorum sera moratur, The Newcomes (1855)
It is only hope which is real, and reality is a bitterness and a deceit.Chapter I. The Overture - Commencement of the Business, Rebecca and Rowena (1850)
We see flowers of good blooming in foul places.Chapter LXXVI. Exeunt Omnes, The History of Pendennis (1850)
There are a thousand thoughts lying within a man that he does not know till he takes up the pen to write.Book II, Chapter I, The History of Henry Esmond (1852)
A clever, ugly man every now and then is successful with the ladies, but a handsome fool is irresistible.Chapter X, Catherine: A Story (November 1839)
To endure is greater than to dare; to tire out hostile fortune; to be daunted by no difficulty; to keep heart when all have lost it; to go through intrigue spotless; and to forgo even ambition when the end is gained – who can say this is not greatness?Chapter XCII. Under Vine and Fig-Tree, The Virginians (1859)
Remember, it’s as easy to marry a rich woman as a poor woman.Chapter XXIX. Babylon, The History of Pendennis (1850)
The greatest tyrants over women are women.Chapter XLIX. In Which We Enjoy Three Courses and a Dessert, Vanity Fair (1848)
What money is better bestowed than that of a schoolboy’s tip? How the kindness is recalled by the recipient in after days! It blesses him that gives and him that takes.Chapter XVI. In which Mr. Sherrick lets his House in Fitzroy Square, The Newcomes (1855)
Let the man who has to make his fortune in life remember this maxim. Attacking is his only secret. Dare, and the world always yields: or, if it beat you sometimes, dare again, and it will succumb.Chapter XIII. I Continue my Career as a Man of Fashion, The Luck of Barry Lyndon (1844)
The book of female logic is blotted all over with tears, and Justice in their courts is for ever in a passion.Chapter IV. In which Harry finds a New Relative, The Virginians (1859)
Always to be right, always to trample forward, and never to doubt, are not these the great qualities with which dullness takes the lead in the world?Chapter XXXV. Widow and Mother, Vanity Fair (1848)
You must not judge hastily or vulgarly of Snobs: to do so shows that you are yourself a Snob.Prefatory Remarks, The Book of Snobs (1848)
There is no good in living in a society where you are merely the equal of everybody else. The true pleasure of life is to live with your inferiors.Chapter IX. Miss Honeyman's, The Newcomes (1855)
How can you make a fool perceive he is a fool? Such a personage can no more see his own folly than he can see his own ears.Dennis Haggarty's Wife, in Men's Wives (1852)
Next to the very young, I suppose the very old are the most selfish.Chapter LXII. Arma Virumque, The Virginians (1859)
Dinner was made for eatin, not for talkin: never pay compliments with your mouth full.Fashnable Fax and Polite Annygoats by Charles Yellowplush, in Fraser's Magazine (November 1837)
Kindnesses are easily forgotten; but injuries! – what worthy man does not keep those in mind?Chapter I. The Bachelor of Beak Street, Lovel the Widower (1860)
If success is rare and slow, everybody knows how quick and easy ruin is.Chapter XVIII. Who Played on the Piano Captain Dobbin Bought, Vanity Fair (1848)
No Source
Do not be in a hurry to succeed. What would you have to live for afterwards? Better make the horizon your goal; it will always be ahead of you.No source