The great mistake is that of looking upon men as virtuous or thinking that they can be made so by laws.

Henry St. John, Lord Bolingbroke

More information about this quote

Topic

Misunderstanding human nature Human nature

Speaker

Henry St. John, Lord Bolingbroke

Source

Observations, Anecdotes, and Characters

Language

English

Time

1728 1720s 17th century

Occupation

Politician Philosopher

From

United Kingdom Europe

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Lord Bolingbrooke. Quoted in Observations, Anecdotes, and Characters, written by Joseph Spence, edited by Samuel Weller Singer. W. H. Carpenter, 1820.

Illustrated Quote

A quote by Henry St. John, Lord Bolingbroke about misunderstanding human nature: “The great mistake is that of looking upon…”
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A quote by Henry St. John, Lord Bolingbroke about misunderstanding human nature: “The great mistake is that of looking upon…”
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A quote by Henry St. John, Lord Bolingbroke about misunderstanding human nature: “The great mistake is that of looking upon…”
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Related Quotes

Below are one or more quotes that share at least one tag with the quote at the top of the page

Another quote from the 1720s

The body of
B. Franklin,
Printer;
Like the cover of an old Book,
Its Contents torn out,
And stript of its lettering and gilding,
Lies here, food for worms.
But the work shall not be wholly lost:
For it will, as he believ’d, appear once more,
In a new & more perfect edition,
Corrected and amended
By the Author.

Benjamin Franklin

Read more about Ben Franklin's epitaph at the National Archives website
More information about this quote
Topic
Afterlife

Author

Benjamin Franklin
Source
Epitaph for Himself
Medium
Epitaph
Statement Type
Epitaph Metaphor, analogy and simile
Language
English
Time
1728 1720s 18th century
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Franklin, Benjamin. Epitaph for himself. 1728.

Current Citation

Franklin, Benjamin. "Epitaph." Benjamin Franklin: Silence Dogood, The Busy-Body and Early Writings, edited by J. A. Leo Lemay. Library of America, 2005.

Another quote about Human nature

Man is by nature a political animal.

Aristotle

Politics

Buy Politics at Amazon Buy Politics at Amazon
Read Politics at MIT's classics department website
More information about this quote
Topic
Politics Human nature

Author

Aristotle
Source
Politics
Genre
Political literature Philosophical literature
Language
Greek
Time
350 BC 350s BC 4th century BC
Era
Classical antiquity
Authentication Score 1
Original Citation

Aristotle. Politics. 4th century BC, bk. 1.

Current Citation

Aristotle. Politics, translated by R. F. Stalley and Sir Ernest Barker. Oxford University Press, 2009, bk. 1.