Sanctimony, Cynicism, Pettiness, Envy, Anger


“Hatred is blind, anger is foolhardy, and he who pours out vengeance risks having to drink a bitter draft.” — Alexandre Dumas, 19th-century French novelist and playwright (from The Count of Monte-Cristo, 1844)

“Do not be too moral. You may cheat yourself out of much life.” — Henry David Thoreau “Moral indignation is in most cases two percent moral, forty-eight percent indignation, and fifty percent envy.” — Vittorio De Sica, 20th-century Italian filmmaker
“A knave’s religion is always the rottenest thing about him.” — John Ruskin, 19th-century British critic and author

“Anger is never without a reason, but seldom a good one.” — Benjamin Franklin, 18th-century American Founding Father, inventor and statesman

“Anyone can become angry. That is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way – this is not easy.” – Aristotle, ancient Greek philosopher (from the Nicomachaen Ethics)

“When a man is wrong and won’t admit it, he always gets angry.” — Haliburton

“All seems infected that the infected spy, as all looks yellow to the jaundiced eye.” — Alexander Pope, 17th-century English poet

“You can tell the size of a man by the size of the thing that makes him mad.” — Adlai Stevenson II, 20th-century American politician, presidential candidate

“Envy someone an’ it pulls you down. Admire them and it builds you up. Which makes more sense?” — Elvis Presley, 20th-century American celebrity entertainer

“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.” — Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens), 19th-century American humorist, author and journalist

“There are two kinds of people: those who do the work and those who take the credit. Try to be in the first group; there is less competition there.” — Indira Gandhi, 20th-century Indian prime minister

“I shall allow no man to belittle my soul by making me hate him.” — Booker T. Washington, 19th-century American educator

“Instead of comparing our lot with that of those who are more fortunate than we are, we should compare it with the lot of the great majority of our fellow men. It then appears that we are among the privileged.” — Helen Keller, 20th-century American social activist, public