"It is the habit of mediocre minds..." - Quote by Francois De La Rochefoucauld

“There are some disguised falsehoods so like truths, that 'twould be to judge ill not to be deceived by them.”

“The passions are the only orators which always persuade.”

“We often select envenomed praise which, by a reaction upon those we praise, shows faults we could not have shown by other means.”

“If Jack's in love, he's no judge of Jill's beauty.”

“How comes it that a cripple does not offend us, but a fool does? Because a cripple recognizes that we walk straight, whereas a fool declares that it is we who are silly; if it were not so, we should feel pity and not anger.”

“To be sure you know no actual good of me, but nobody thinks of that when they fall in love.”

“Commonplaceness, the surrender to the average, that good which is not bad but still the enemy of the best - That is our besetting danger.”

“The greatest secret in the world is that you only have to be a small measurable amount better than mediocrity ...and you've got it made.”

“It is difficult to preach, this morality of mediocrity! It may never admit what it is and what it wants! It must speak about restraint and worth and duty and love of one's neighbor.”