self-combats

Updated: May 8, 2025

A degree of parsimony, which an Englishman, who does not affect the reputation of a Codrus, could not acquire without many self-combats, appears in a Frenchman a matter of preference and convenience, and till one has lived long and familiarly in the country, one is apt to mistake principles for customs, and character for manners, and to attribute many things to local which have their real source in moral causes.

An English Lady - A Residence in France During the Years 1792, 1793, 1794 and 1795, Part II., 1793: Described in a Series of Letters from an English Lady: with General: and Incidental Remarks on the French Character and Manners

A degree of parsimony, which an Englishman, who does not affect the reputation of a Codrus, could not acquire without many self-combats, appears in a Frenchman a matter of preference and convenience, and till one has lived long and familiarly in the country, one is apt to mistake principles for customs, and character for manners, and to attribute many things to local which have their real source in moral causes.

An English Lady - A Residence in France During the Years 1792, 1793, 1794 and 1795, Complete: Described in a Series of Letters from an English Lady: with General: and Incidental Remarks on the French Character and Manners