Jean de La Fontaine quotes
Jean de La Fontaine (1621–1695): French poet, fabulist and writer. The library holds 77 quotes by Jean de La Fontaine, drawn from Book, The Cock and the Fox, The Fox and the Grapes and other works. The 60 below are the most quoted; search the library in the maker for the rest.
Often about: life, truth, happiness, friendship, family, war
The best-known Jean de La Fontaine quotes
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Rogues are always found out in some way. Whoever is a wolf will act as a wolf; that is the most certain of all things.
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Gentleness does more than violence.
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It is a double pleasure to deceive the deceiver.
The Cock and the Fox, Book ii. Fable 15 -
Beware, as long as you live, of judging men by their outward appearance.
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We listen to no instincts but such as are our own, and we believe in no misfortune till it comes.
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Love cries victory when the tears of a woman become the sole defense of her virtue.
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Of our enemies, the smallest are often the most to be dreaded.
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Let them take one foot in your house, and they will soon have taken four (give them an inch and they will take an ell).
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And I know a great many men who in this particular are women.
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We ought never to mock the wretched, for who can be sure of being always happy?
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We must oblige everybody as much as we can; we have often need of assistance from those inferior to ourselves.
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Let us not overstrain our abilities, or we shall do nothing with grace. A clown, whatever he may do, will never pass for a gentleman.
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Example is a hazardous lure: where the wasp gets through, the gnat sticks.
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Men are as cold as ice to the truth, hot as fire to falsehood.
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Death is no surprise to the wise man; he is always ready to depart, having learnt to anticipate the time when he must make up his mind to take this last journey.
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I leave you to imagine the festive time these two friends (the town mouse and the country mouse) had of it.
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Patience and length of time accomplish more than violence and rage.
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Every flatterer lives at the expense of him who listens to him.
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Is a matter to be discussed? the council chamber is full of advisers. Is there something to be done? the chamber is empty.
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Let us not force our faculty; we shall in that case do nothing to good effect.
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We always take credit for the good, and attribute the bad to fortune.
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Every man turns his dreams into realities as far as he can. Man is cold as ice to the truth, but as fire to falsehood.
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Friendship is the shadow of the evening, which strengthens with the setting sun of life.
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We must never laugh at the miserable, for who can be sure of being always happy?
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Happy the man who lives at home, making it his business to regulate his desires.
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Hey! my friend, help me out of my danger first; you can make your speech afterwards.
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Death comes to cure everything, but let us not stir from where we are. “Endure sooner than die,” is the proper device for man.
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There is nothing useless to men of sense; clever people turn everything to account.
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It is of no use running; to set out betimes is the main point.
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Nothing is so oppressive as a secret; it is difficult for ladies to keep it long, and I know even in this matter a good number of men who are women.
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Prohibition acts as a charm; it is said to give a zest to pleasures, especially to those which love imparts.
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I must have something new, even were there none in the world.
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The argument of the strongest is always the best, i.e., has most weight.
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Our condition never satisfies us; the present is always the worst. Though Jupiter should grant his request to each, we should continue to importune him.
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It is impossible to please all the world and one’s father.
Book iii, Fable 1 -
I am a bird, see my wing! I am a mouse; long live the rats.
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The philosopher knows the universe and knows not himself.
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“They are too green,” he said, “and only good for fools.”
The Fox and the Grapes, Fable 11 -
The greatest ass of the three is not the one who seems so.
The Miller, his Son, and his Ass -
The smallest grain of millet would serve my needs better.
The Cock and the Pearl -
He who most resembles the dead dies with most reluctance.
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By the work one knows the workman.
The Hornets and the Bees, Fable 21 -
Lynx-eyed to our neighbours, and mole-eyed to ourselves.
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Man is as ice to what is true, and as fire to falsehood.
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Let ignorance talk as it will, learning has its value.
The Use of Knowledge, Book viii. Fable 19 -
The fastidious are unfortunate; nothing satisfies them.
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Sheepish as a fox that has been taken in by a fowl.
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To retire into a Dutch cheese, i.e., to be contented.
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One has often need of one inferior to one’s self.
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There is no pleasing everybody and one’s father.
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The opinion of the strongest is always the best.
The Wolf and the Lamb, Book i. Fable 10 -
The noblest victory is to conquer one’s own heart.
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Nothing is so dangerous as an ignorant friend.
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Every journalist owes tribute to the evil one.
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Neither wealth nor greatness render us happy.
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It’s no use running; only setting out betimes.
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At a distance it is something, at hand nothing.
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He knows everything and does not know himself.
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Religious contention is the devil’s harvest.
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Let ignorance talk, learning has its value.
Where these quotes come from
- Book (3 quotes)
- The Cock and the Fox (1 quote)
- The Fox and the Grapes (1 quote)
- The Miller, his Son, and his Ass (1 quote)
- The Cock and the Pearl (1 quote)
- The Hornets and the Bees (1 quote)
- The Use of Knowledge (1 quote)
- The Wolf and the Lamb (1 quote)
Every quote comes from a public-domain edition. How the library was made .