Charles Caleb Colton (1780–1832) was an English cleric, writer and collector, well known for his eccentricities.
Colton was educated at Eton and King's College, graduating with a B.A. in 1801 and an M.A. in 1804. In 1801 he was presented by the college with the perpetual curacy of Tiverton's Prior's Quarter in Devon, where he lived for many years. He was appointed to the vicarage of Kew and Petersham in 1812. His performance of church-related fun...
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Date of birth:
- 1780
Date of death:
- 1832 (age 52 years)
Quotations:
- As no roads are so rough as those that have just been mended, so no sinners are so intolerant as those that have just turned saints. ,
- Liberty will not descend to a people; a people must raise themselves to liberty; it is a blessing that must be earned before it can be enjoyed. ,
- The consequences of things are not always proportionate to the apparent magnitude of those events that have produced them. Thus the American Revolution, from which little was expected, produced much; but the French Revolution, from which much was expected, produced little. ,
- There is this difference between happiness and wisdom, that he that thinks himself the happiest man, really is so; but he who thinks himself the wisest, is generally the greatest fool. ,
- Men's arguments often prove nothing but their wishes. ,
- Posthumous charities are the very essence of selfishness, when bequeathed by those who. when alive, would not have contributed. ,
- The society of dead authors has this advantage over that of the living: they never flatter us to our faces, nor slander us behind our backs, nor intrude upon our privacy, nor quit their shelves until we take them down. ,
- To know the pains of power, we must go to those who have it; to know its pleasures, we must go to those who are seeking it. The pains of power are real; its pleasures imaginary. ,
- Avarice has ruined more souls than extravagance. ,
- Repartee is perfect when it effects its purpose with a double edge. It is the highest order of wit, as it indicates the coolest yet quickest exercise of genius, at a moment when the passions are roused.
