William Makepeace Thackeray quotes
William Makepeace Thackeray
Birthdate: 18. July 1811
Date of death: 24. December 1863
Other names: William Thackeray, Уильям Теккерей
William Makepeace Thackeray was a British novelist and author. He is known for his satirical works, particularly Vanity Fair, a panoramic portrait of English society.
Works
Vanity Fair
William Makepeace Thackeray
The Virginians
William Makepeace Thackeray
The History of Henry Esmond
William Makepeace Thackeray
Quotes William Makepeace Thackeray
„Remember, it's as easy to marry a rich woman as a poor woman.“
Source: The History of Pendennis (1848-1850), Ch. 28.
„A lady who sets her heart upon a lad in uniform must prepare to change lovers pretty quickly, or her life will be but a sad one.“
Source: The Memoirs of Barry Lyndon, Esq. written by himself
„Stupid people, people who do not know how to laugh, are always pompous and self-conceited.“
Sketches and Travels in London; Mr. Brown's Letters to His Nephew: "On Love, Marriage, Men and Women" (1856).
„Women like not only to conquer, but to be conquered.“
— William Makepeace Thackeray, book The Virginians
Source: The Virginians (1857-1859), Ch. 4.
„How hard it is to make an Englishman acknowledge that he is happy!“
— William Makepeace Thackeray, book Pendennis
Pendennis. Book ii. Chap. xxxi, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).
„… the greatest tyrants over women are women.“
— William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair
Source: Vanity Fair
„Never lose a chance of saying a kind word.“
— William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair
Source: Vanity Fair
„This I set down as a positive truth. A woman with fair opportunities, and without a positive hump, may marry whom she likes.“
— William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair
Vol. I, ch. 4. Compare: "I should like to see any kind of a man, distinguishable from a gorilla, that some good and even pretty woman could not shape a husband out of", Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., The Professor at the Breakfast Table; "The whole world is strewn with snares, traps, gins and pitfalls for the capture of men by women", Bernard Shaw, Epistle Dedicatory to Man and Superman.
Source: Vanity Fair (1847–1848)
„As the gambler said of his dice, to love and win is the best thing, to love and lose is the next best.“
Source: The History of Pendennis (1848-1850), Ch. 40.
„Good humour may be said to be one of the very best articles of dress one can wear in society.“
Sketches and Travels in London; Mr. Brown's Letters to his Nephew: "On Tailoring — And Toilettes in General" (1856).
Source: Sketches and Travels, Etc.
„Dare, and the world always yields: or, if it beat you sometimes, dare again, and it will succumb.“
— William Makepeace Thackeray, book The Luck of Barry Lyndon
The Luck of Barry Lyndon (1844), Ch. 13.
Context: Let the man who has to make his fortune in life remember this maxim. Attacking is his only secret. Dare, and the world always yields: or, if it beat you sometimes, dare again, and it will succumb.
„The world is a looking-glass, and gives back to every man the reflection of his own face.“
— William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair
Vol. I, ch. 2.
Vanity Fair (1847–1848)
Context: The world is a looking-glass, and gives back to every man the reflection of his own face. Frown at it, and it will in turn look sourly upon you; laugh at it and with it, and it is a jolly kind companion; and so let all young persons take their choice.
„Revenge may be wicked, but it’s natural.“
— William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair
Source: Vanity Fair
„Which of us is happy in this world? Which of us has his desire? or, having it, is satisfied?“
— William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair
Come, children, let us shut up the box and the puppets, for our play is played out. Vol. II, ch. 27.
Source: Vanity Fair (1847–1848)
