John Churton Collins Quotes

Half our mistakes in life arise from feeling where we ought to think, and thinking where we ought to feel.

In prosperity our friends know us; in adversity we know our friends.

Never trust a man who speaks well of everybody.

If we knew each other's secrets, what comforts we should find.

There is often less danger in the things we fear than in the things we desire.

Always mistrust a subordinate who never finds fault with his superior.

We are no more responsible for the evil thoughts that pass through our minds than a scarecrow for the birds which fly over the seedplot he has to guard. The sole responsibility in each case is to prevent them from settling.

The secret of success in life is known only by those who have not succeeded.

A fool often fails because he thinks what is difficult is easy.

Never claim as a right what you can ask as a favor.

If we escape punishment for our vices, why should we complain if we are not rewarded for our virtues?

In the downhill of life, when I find I'm declining, May my lot no less fortunate be Than a snug elbow-chair can afford for reclining, And a cot that o'erlooks the wide sea; With an ambling pad-pony to pace o'er the lawn, While I carol away idle sorrow, And blithe as the lark that each day hails the dawn, Look forward with hope for to-morrow.

Though pride is not a virtue, it is the parent of many virtues.

Envy and fear are the only passions to which no pleasure is attached.

A wise man thinks what is easy is difficult.

To accept a favor from a friend is to confer one.

No one who deserves confidence ever solicits it.

To ask advice is in nine cases out of ten to tout for flattery.

Truth is the object of philosophy, but not always of philosophers.

Suicide is the worst form of murder, because it leaves no opportunity for repentance.

What attracts us in a woman rarely binds us to her.