Pride is founded not on the sense of happiness, but on the sense of power.
William HazlittRead
He is a hypocrite who professes what he does not believe; not he who does not practice all he wishes or approves.
Interpretation
What this quote means
A hypocrite is someone who claims to hold beliefs they do not truly embrace, while it's acceptable to struggle with one's actions.
William Hazlitt's quote highlights the concept of hypocrisy, emphasizing that true hypocrisy arises not from failing to live up to one's ideals but from pretending to believe in something one does not genuinely uphold. It suggests that a person who may not act upon all their beliefs can still be more authentic than someone who outwardly professes beliefs they do not possess internally.
Themes
HypocrisyBeliefsAuthenticityIntegrityPhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used when discussing ethical behavior in a classroom setting.
More from William Hazlitt
All quotes βThe world loves to be amused by hollow professions, to be deceived by flattering appearances, to live in a state of hallucination; and can forgive everything but the plain, downright, simple, honest truth.
William HazlittRead
Our repugnance to death increases in proportion to our consciousness of having lived in vain.
William HazlittRead
We can bear to be deprived of everything but our self-conceit.
William HazlittRead
There are few things in which we deceive ourselves more than in the esteem we profess to entertain for our firends. It is little better than a piece of quackery. The truth is, we think of them as we please, that is, as they please or displease us.
William HazlittRead
Prosperity is a great teacher; adversity is a greater. Possession pampers the mind; privation trains and strengthens it.
William HazlittRead
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Myth is an attempt to narrate a whole human experience, of which the purpose is too deep, going too deep in the blood and soul, for mental explanation or description.
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I am doomed to remember a boy with a wrecked voice. Not because of his voice, or because he was the smallest person I ever knew, or even because he was the instrument of my mother's death, but because he is the reason I believe in God. I am a Christian because of Owen Meany.
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Whether a man chooses to tell the truth in long sentences or short jokes is a problem analogous to whether he chooses to tell the truth in French or in German.
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Everything you have is to give. Thou art a phenomenon of philosophy and an unfortunate man.
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Every man's death is standing in for every other. And since death comes to all there is no way to abate the fear of it except to love the man who stands for us.
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There is no emptiness without appearance, and there is no appearance without emptiness. That is what we call the interdependent nature.
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