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Home  »  Dictionary of Quotations  »  Corneille

James Wood, comp. Dictionary of Quotations. 1899.

Corneille

A l’amour satisfait tout son charme est ôté—When love is satisfied all the charm of it is gone.

A liar is always lavish of oaths.

A raconter ses maux, souvent on les soulage—Our misfortunes are often lightened by relating them.

All evils, when extreme, are the same.

Brave men are brave from the very first.

C’est le crime qui fait honte, et non pas l’échafaud—It is the crime, not the scaffold, which is the disgrace.

Chaque instant de la vie est un pas vers la mort—Each moment of life is one step nearer death.

Deceit is a game played only by small minds.

Devine si tu peux, et choisis si tu l’oses—Solve the riddle if you can, and choose if you dare.

Elle a trop de vertus pour n’étre pas chrétienne—She has too many virtues not to be a Christian.

Et le combat cessa faute de combattants—And the battle ceased for want of combatants.

Et vaincre sans péril serait vaincre sans gloire—To conquer without peril would be to conquer without glory.

Every brave man is a man of his word.

He on whom Heaven bestows a sceptre knows not the weight of it till he bears it.

He who fears not death fears not threats.

Heaven often regulates effects by their causes, and pays the wicked what they have deserved.

Ici l’honneur m’oblige, et j’y veux satisfaire—Here honour binds me, and I am minded to satisfy her.

J’embrasse mon rival, mais c’est pour l’étouffer—I press my rival to my heart, but it is to smother him.

Jamais nous ne goûtons de parfaite allégresse; / Nos plus heureux succès sont mêlés de tristesse—We never taste happiness in perfection; our most fortunate successes are mixed with sadness.

Je n’ai mérité / Ni cet excès d’honneur ni cette indignité—I have deserved neither so much honour nor such disgrace.

Je vois, je sais, je crois, je suis désabusé—I see, I know, I believe, I am undeceived.

L’amour soumet la terre, assujettit les cieux, / Les rois sont à ses pieds, il gouverne les dieux—Love rules the earth, subjects the heavens; kings are at his feet; he controls the gods.

La générosité suit la belle naissance; / La pitié l’accompagne et la reconnaissance—Generosity follows in the train of high birth; pity and gratitude are attendants.

La violence est juste où la douceur est vaine—Force is legitimate where gentleness avails not.

Le crime fait la honte, et non pas l’échafaud—It is the crime that’s the disgrace, not the scaffold.

Le feu qui semble éteint souvent dort dans la cendre—The fire which seems extinguished often slumbers in the ashes.

Le reste ne vaut pas l’honneur d’être nommé—The rest don’t deserve to be mentioned.

Le temps est un grand maître, il régle bien les choses—Time is a great master; it regulates things well.

Moi, moi, dis je, et c’est assez—I, I, say I, and that is enough.

Pour grands que soient les rois, ils sont ce que nous sommes; / Ils peuvent se tromper comme les autres hommes—However great kings may be, they are what we are; they may be deceived like other men.

Qu’on parle bien ou mal du fameux cardinal, / Ma prose ni mes vers n’en diront jamais rien; / Il m’a fait trop de bien pour en dire du mal, / Il m’a fait trop de mal pour en dire du bien—Let the world speak well or ill of the famous cardinal, neither in my prose or verse will I mention his name; he has done me too much kindness to speak ill of him, and too much injury to speak well.Of Richelieu.

Qui ne craint point la mort ne craint point les menaces—He who fears not death cares not for threats.

Qui pardonne aisément invite à l’offenser—He who easily forgives invites offences.

Qui peut ce qui lui plait, commande alors qu’il prie—He who can do what he pleases, commands when he entreats.

Qui veut mourir ou vaincre est vaincu rarement—He who is resolved to conquer or die is rarely conquered.

Rome n’est plus dans Rome; elle est toute où je suis—Rome is no longer in Rome; it is all where I am.

Ses rides sur son front ont gravé ses exploits—His furrows on his forehead testify to his exploits.

The game is not worth the candle.

The gods invariably make us pay dear for the great benefits they confer on us.

To conquer without danger would be to conquer without glory.

Tyran, descends du trône, et fais place à ton maître—Tyrant, come down from the throne, and give place to your master!

Un menteur est toujours prodigue de serments—A liar is always lavish of oaths.

We triumph without glory when we conquer without danger.