William Hazlitt Common Quotations

What a fine lesson is conveyed to the mind -- to take no note of time but by its benefits, to watch only for the smiles and neglect the frowns of fate, to compose our lives of bright and gentle moments, turning always to the sunny side of things, and letting the rest slip for our imaginations, unheeded or forgotten! How different from the common art of self-tormenting!

We imagine that the admiration of the works of celebrated men has become common, because the admiration of their names has become so.

Wit is the rarest quality to be met with among people of education, and the most common among the uneducated.

A thing is not vulgar merely because it is common.

The discussing the characters and foibles of common friends is a great sweetness and cement of friendship.

The rule for traveling abroad is to take our common sense with us, and leave our prejudices behind.