“If God were to exist for the entire humanity, he would be profoundly vile, as he allows the existence of unfathomable sin, stupidity, madness, and misery for no reason than his own despicable enjoyment. God exists though, not for all humanity, but for a one chosen man - a philosopher - who is bound to answer the greatest philosophical question, the question about the nature of the questioner's existence, which progressively quenches the divine vanity.” IfsMenReasonGodWould BePainHumanitySinAnswersExistenceDivineMadnessPhilosophicalMiseryBoundsPhilosopherStupidityChosenVanityEnjoymentNo ReasonGod ExistsDespicableUnfathomableQuenchPhilosophical Questions Author:Kedar Joshi
“Every man is of importance to himself, and, therefore, in his own opinion, to others; and, supposing the world already acquainted with his pleasures and his pains, is perhaps the first to publish injuries or misfortunes which had never been known unless related by himself, and at which those that hear them will only laugh, for no man sympathises with the sorrows of vanity.” MenWorldWritingFirstsPainPleasureKnownOpinionLaughingSorrowImportanceEvery ManVanityRelatedInjuryMisfortunesPublishSupposing Book:The Works of the English Poets, from Chaucer to Cowper: Including the Series Edited with Prefaces, Biographical and Critical Source: The Works of the English Poets, from Chaucer to Cowper: Including the Series Edited with Prefaces, Biographical and Critical
“Good deeds shun the light as anxiously as evil deeds: the latter fear that disclosure will bring on pain (as punishment), while the former fear that disclosure will take away pleasure (that pure pleasure, that pleasure per se, which immediately ceases once the vanity's satisfaction is added).” LightPainEvilPleasurePureSatisfactionDeedsPunishmentCeaseFormerVanityGood And EvilLatterGood DeedsSecrecyDisclosure Author:Friedrich Nietzsche
“Vanity, or to call it by a gentler name, the desire of admiration and applause, is, perhaps, the most universal principle of humanactions.... Where that desire is wanting, we are apt to be indifferent, listless, indolent, and inert.... I will own to you, under the secrecy of confession, that my vanity has very often made me take great pains to make many a woman in love with me, if I could, for whose person I would not have given a pinch of snuff.” IfsPersonsMadePainDesireNamesGivenPrinciplesUniversalPraiseVanityIf I CouldAdmirationConfessionIndifferentSecrecyApplauseSnuff Author:Lord Chesterfield
“Vanity calculates but poorly on the vanity of others; what a virtue we should distil from frailty, what a world of pain we should save our brethren, if we would suffer our own weakness to be the measure of theirs.” IfsWorldShouldPainSufferingVirtueWeaknessVanityBrethrenFrailty Author:Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton
“The youth who, like a woman, loves to adorn his person, has renounced all claim to wisdom and to glory; glory is due to those only who dare to associate with pain, and have trampled pleasure under their feet.” PersonsPainPleasureFeetYouthGloryClaimsDareDuesVanityAssociates Author:Francois Fenelon