The common practice of keeping up appearances with society is a mere selfish struggle of the vain with the vain.

The common practice of keeping up appearances with society is a mere selfish struggle of the vain with the vain.

Oh, wad some power the giftie gie us
To see oursel's as ithers see us!
It wad read more

Oh, wad some power the giftie gie us
To see oursel's as ithers see us!
It wad frae monie a blunder free us,
And foolish notion.

Rome took all the vanity out of me; for after seeing the wonders there, I felt too insignificant to live, read more

Rome took all the vanity out of me; for after seeing the wonders there, I felt too insignificant to live, and gave up all my foolish hopes in despair.

We are so vain that we even care for the opinion of those we don't care for.

We are so vain that we even care for the opinion of those we don't care for.

If a person is to get the meaning of life he must learn to like the facts about himself -- read more

If a person is to get the meaning of life he must learn to like the facts about himself -- ugly as they may seem to his sentimental vanity -- before he can learn the truth behind the facts. And the truth is never ugly.

Vain-glorious men are the scorn of the wise, the admiration of fools, the idols of paradise, and the slaves of read more

Vain-glorious men are the scorn of the wise, the admiration of fools, the idols of paradise, and the slaves of their own vaunts.

Even in a time of elephantine vanity and greed, one never has to look far to see the campfires of read more

Even in a time of elephantine vanity and greed, one never has to look far to see the campfires of gentle people.

Self-love is the greatest of all flatterers.

Self-love is the greatest of all flatterers.

That which makes the vanity of others unbearable to us is that
which wounds our own.
[Fr., Ce read more

That which makes the vanity of others unbearable to us is that
which wounds our own.
[Fr., Ce qui nous rend la vanite des autres insupportable, c'est
qu'elle blesse la notre.]