Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach Quotes

None are so inconsiderate as those who demand nothing of life other than their own personal comfort.

Misanthropy is a suit of armor lined with thorns.

Many think they have a kind heart who have only weak nerves.

An intelligent woman has millions of born enemies... all the stupid men.

We are so vain that we even care for the opinion of those we don't care for.

Calmness is the graceful form of Confidence.

Exceptions are not always the proof of the old rule; they can also be the harbinger of a new one.

Nothing is so often and so irrevocably missed as the opportunity which crops up daily.

There are very few honest friends--the demand is not particularly great.

Pain is the great teacher of mankind. Beneath its breath souls develop.

He who believes in freedom of the will has never loved and never hated.

Not what we experience, but how we perceive what we experience, determines our fate.

How wise must one be to be always kind.

You stay young as long as you can learn, acquire new habits, and suffer contradictions.

"People's minds are trained largely at the expense of their hearts." This is not so; it is only that there are more educable minds than there are educable hearts.

We can be wise from goodness and good from wisdom.

The poor man wishes to conceal his poverty, and the rich man his wealth: the former fears lest he be despised, the latter lest he be plundered.

Whoever prefers the material comforts of life over intellectual wealth is like the owner of a palace who moves into the servants’ quarters and leaves the sumptuous rooms empty.

Grace is the outcome of inward harmony.

When curiosity turns to serious matters, it's called research.

In youth we learn; in age we understand.

Never expect women to be sincere, so long as they are educated to think that their first aim in life is to please.

Privilege is the greatest enemy of right.

We don't believe in rheumatism and true love until after the first attack.

He who says patience, says courage, endurance, strength.

Happy slaves are the bitterest enemies of freedom.

Only the thinking man lives his life, the thoughtless man's life passes him by.

Deep learning doesn't shine.

Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

Even a stopped clock is right twice every day. After some years, it can boast of a long series of successes.

Generosity, to be perfect, should always be accompanied by a dash of humor.

Nobody knows enough, but many know too much.

Since the well-known victory over the hare by the tortoise, the descendants of the tortoise think themselves miracles of speed.

As far as your self-control goes, as far goes your freedom.

Consider once before you give, twice before you receive, and a thousand times before you ask.

Fear not those who argue but those who dodge.

There is only one proof of ability - action.

Those who know nothing must believe everything.

Do not consider yourself deprived because your dreams were not fulfilled; the truly deprived have never dreamed.

Our greatest indulgence towards a man springs from our despair of him.

So soon as a fashion is universal, it is out of date.

Whenever two good people argue over principles, they are both right.

We are not always even what we are most.

To be satisfied with little is hard, to be satisfied with a lot is impossible.

Genius points the way, talent takes it.

The wise man is seldom prudent.

Many think that when they have confessed a fault there is no need of correcting it.

How happy are the pessimists! What joy is theirs when they have proved there is no joy.

The believer who has never doubted will hardly convert a doubter.

Not reading a beautiful book again because you've already read it, that is, as if you were not visiting a dear friend again because you know him already.