Sovereign Maxims
Context: It is impossible to live a pleasant life without living wisely and honorably and justly, and it is impossible to live wisely and honorably and justly without living pleasantly. Whenever any one of these is lacking, when, for instance, the man is not able to live wisely, though he lives honorably and justly, it is impossible for him to live a pleasant life. (5)
“I can be forced to live without happiness,
But I will never consent to live without honor.”
L’on peut me réduire à vivre sans bonheur,
Mais non pas me résoudre à vivre sans honneur.
Don Gomès, act II, scene i.
Le Cid (1636)
Original
L’on peut me réduire à vivre sans bonheur, Mais non pas me résoudre à vivre sans honneur.
Le Cid (1636)
Help us to complete the source, original and additional information
Pierre Corneille 81
French tragedian 1606–1684Related quotes
“Happy are the beloved and the lovers and those who can live without love.”
Movie Villain Peter Lorre http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-peter-lorre-19640324-story.html
Part i, canto ii.
Lucile (1860)
Reported in Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert, Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895), p. 88.
Source: "Die Menschen können nicht ohne Hoffnung leben" (one of his last interviews), Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung (February 11, 2002)