“We flatter those we scarcely know,
We please the fleeting guest,
And deal full many a thoughtless blow
To those who love us best.”

—  Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Variant: We flatter those we scarcely know,
We please the fleeting guest;
And deal full many a thoughtless blow,
To those who love us best.

Last update Nov. 2, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "We flatter those we scarcely know, We please the fleeting guest, And deal full many a thoughtless blow To those who lov…" by Ella Wheeler Wilcox?
Ella Wheeler Wilcox photo
Ella Wheeler Wilcox 46
American author and poet 1850–1919

Related quotes

Kate Mosse photo

“We are who we are, be­cause of those we choose to love and be­cause of those who love us.”

Kate Mosse book The Winter Ghosts

Variant: And I shall set this last truth down. We are who we are because of those we choose to love and because of those who love us.
Source: The Winter Ghosts

Samuel Butler photo

“We all love best not those who offend us least, nor those who have done most for us, but those who make it most easy for us to forgive them.”

Samuel Butler (1835–1902) novelist
Mwanandeke Kindembo photo

“We admire and love those people who constantly tease us, but we are doubtful of those who show us too much love.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author
Bashar al-Assad photo

“We are facing an external attack against us, which is more dangerous than any other previous wars… We are dealing with those who are extremists, who only know the language of killing and criminality.”

Bashar al-Assad (1965) President of Syria

As quoted by Holly Yan et. al. Al-Assad touts plan for resolution, says enemies of Syria 'will go to hell' http://edition.cnn.com/2013/01/06/world/meast/syria-civil-war/?hpt=hp_t1, CNN (Jan. 17, 2013)

Alain photo

“It is very true that we ought to think of the happiness of others; but it is not often enough said that the best thing we can do for those who love us is to be happy ourselves.”

Alain (1868–1951) French philosopher

Happiness if Generous
Alain On Happiness (1928)

Barack Obama photo

“I believe we can be better. Those who died here, those who saved lives here — they help me believe. We may not be able to stop all evil in the world, but I know that how we treat one another is entirely up to us. I believe that for all our imperfections, we are full of decency and goodness, and that the forces that divide us are not as strong as those that unite us.”

Barack Obama (1961) 44th President of the United States of America

2011, Tucson Memorial Address (January 2011)

Maximilien Robespierre photo

“I know we cannot flatter ourselves that we have attained perfection; but holding up a Republic surrounded by enemies, fortifying reason in favour of liberty, destroying prejudice and nullifying individual efforts against the public interest, demand moral and physical strengths that nature has perhaps denied to those who denounce us and those we are fighting.”

Maximilien Robespierre (1758–1794) French revolutionary lawyer and politician

"In Defense of the Committee of Public Safety and Against Briez" (25 September 1793)

Pierce Brown photo

“Yes. I'm alone.
I would have thought there to be worse fates than this, but now I know there are none. Man is no island. We need those who love us. We need those who hate us. We need others to tether us to life, to give us a reason to live, to feel.”

Pierce Brown book Morning Star

Source: Morning Star (2016), Ch. 1: Only the Dark

Kate Bush photo

“Just let us try
To give these moments back
To those we love
To those who will survive…”

Kate Bush (1958) British recording artist; singer, songwriter, musician and record producer

Song lyrics, The Red Shoes (1993)
Context: p>Just being alive
It can really hurt
These moments given
Are a gift from time.Just let us try
To give these moments back
To those we love
To those who will survive…</p

Related topics