Moliere

French playwright

Early Modern influential 32 sayings

Sayings by Moliere

It is a great folly to be wise where ignorance is bliss.

1666 — From the play, 'The Misanthrope'
Controversial Unverifiable

The greatest of fools is he who thinks he is not one.

1670 — From the play, 'The Bourgeois Gentleman'
Controversial Unverifiable

It is a good thing to be learned, but it is better to be a good man.

1662 — From the play, 'The School for Wives'
Controversial Unverifiable

The more we love our friends, the less we flatter them; it is by excusing nothing that pure love shows itself.

1666 — From the play, 'The Misanthrope'
Controversial Unverifiable

To live without loving is not really to live.

1665 — From the play, 'Don Juan'
Controversial Unverifiable

The world, dear Agnes, is a strange place, and full of strange people.

1662 — From the play, 'The School for Wives'
Controversial Unverifiable

Of all the follies there is none greater than to be a learned fool.

1670 — From the play, 'The Bourgeois Gentleman'
Controversial Unverifiable

One ought to examine oneself for a very long time before thinking of condemning others.

1666 — From the play, 'The Misanthrope'
Controversial Unverifiable

A learned fool is more foolish than an unlearned fool.

1670 — From the play, 'The Bourgeois Gentleman'
Controversial Unverifiable

To be a good man, one must be a good citizen.

1662 — From the play, 'The School for Wives'
Controversial Unverifiable

We are easily duped by what we love.

1664 — From the play, 'Tartuffe'
Controversial Unverifiable

He who is born a fool is never cured.

1666 — From the play, 'The Misanthrope'
Controversial Unverifiable

It is a sign of a great mind to be able to make fun of itself.

1670 — From the play, 'The Bourgeois Gentleman'
Controversial Unverifiable

True love is like ghosts, which everyone talks about and few have seen.

1665 — From the play, 'Don Juan'
Controversial Unverifiable

The duty of comedy is to correct men's vices.

1669 — Preface to 'Tartuffe'
Controversial Unverifiable

Hypocrisy is a fashionable vice, and all fashionable vices pass for virtues.

1664 — From the play, 'Tartuffe'
Controversial Unverifiable

Man, I believe, is a creature that can get accustomed to anything.

1666 — From the play, 'The Misanthrope'
Controversial Unverifiable

The more you are in love with a woman, the more you are blind to her faults.

1662 — From the play, 'The School for Wives'
Controversial Unverifiable

The greatest proof of love is trust.

1665 — From the play, 'Don Juan'
Controversial Unverifiable

Betray a friend, and you'll often find you have ruined yourself.

1666 — From the play, 'The Misanthrope'
Controversial Unverifiable