Quote#Hope
We cannot judge either of the feelings or of the characters of men…
Quote byMaria Edgeworth · 1768–1849
Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: Castle Rackrent (1800), Preface; Tales and Novels, vol. 1, p. 9..
English (original)
We cannot judge either of the feelings or of the characters of men with perfect accuracy from their actions or their appearance in public; it is from their careless conversations, their half-finished sentences, that we may hope with the greatest probability of success to discover their real characters.
— Maria Edgeworth
More from Maria Edgeworth
Our Irish blunders are never blunders of the heart.
A love-match was the only thing for happiness, where the parties could any way afford it.
Surely it is much more generous to forgive and remember, than to forgive and forget.
Obtain power, then, by all means; power is the law of man; make it yours.
Man is to be held only by the slightest chains; with the idea that he can break them at pleasure, he submits to them in sport.
A man who sells his conscience for his interest will sell it for his pleasure. A man who will betray his country will betray his friend.