I always do the first line well, but I have trouble doing the others.
MoliereRead
Some of the most famous books are the least worth reading. Their fame was due to their having done something that needed to be doing in their day. The work is done and the virtue of the book has expired.
Interpretation
Famous books may not always hold lasting value, as their relevance can diminish over time.
This quote by Moliere suggests that some books gain fame and recognition not necessarily because of their literary quality, but because they addressed specific issues or ideas relevant to their time. Once the societal context that made these works notable has passed, their significance may fade, indicating that the value of literature can be both time-bound and transient.
In practice
In a book club discussion, one might reference this quote to highlight how some acclaimed works may not hold up under scrutiny.
I always do the first line well, but I have trouble doing the others.
Beauty without intelligence is like a hook without bait.
Betrayed and wronged in everything, I’ll flee this bitter world where vice is king, And seek some spot unpeopled and apart Where I’ll be free to have an honest heart. - Molière, The Misanthrope
Long is the road from conception to completion.
Oh, I may be devout, but I am human all the same.
Hypocrisy is a fashionable vice, and all fashionable vices pass for virtue.
It was a day and age that saw no reason why one could not learn whatever was required - learn vitally anything - by the close study of books.
To teach details is to bring confusion; to establish the relationship between things is to bring knowledge.
I often say that research is a way of finding out what you are going to do when you can't keep on doing what you are doing now.
No one has yet realized the wealth of sympathy, the kindness and generosity hidden in the soul of a child. The effort of every true education should be to unlock that treasure.
We give people fish. We teach them to fish. We tear down the walls that have been built up around the fish pond. And we figure out who polluted it.
For a lot of us, awareness is merely realizing the extent to which we've been lied to all our lives. You start educating yourself. You become motivated; you follow your muse where it takes you. And you see the world in a different way. You start making decisions based on what you feel is right.
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