First get an absolute conquest over thyself, and then thou wilt easily govern thy wife.
—Thomas Fuller (1608–61) English Cleric, Historian
An ideal wife is any woman who has an ideal husband.
—Booth Tarkington (1869–1946) American Novelist, Dramatist
The dignity of woman consists in being unknown to the world.—Her glory is the esteem of her husband; her pleasure the happiness of her family.
—Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–78) Swiss-born French Philosopher
A man loves his sweetheart the most, his wife the best, but his mother the longest.
—Irish Proverb
I know the sum of all that makes a man—a just man—happy, consists in the well choosing of his wife; and then well to discharge it, does require equality of years, of birth, of fortune.
—Philip Massinger (1583–1640) English Playwright
No man can live piously or die righteously without a wife.
—Jean Paul (1763–1825) German Novelist, Philosopher
When it shall please God to bring thee to man’s estate, use great providence and circumspection in choosing thy wife. For from thence will spring all thy future good or evil, and it is an action of life like unto a stratagem of war, wherein a man can err but once.
—Philip Sidney (1554–86) English Soldier Poet, Courtier
No man succeeds without a good woman behind him. Wife or mother, if it is both, he is twice blessed indeed.
—Harold Macmillan (1894–1986) British Head of State
The highest gift and favor of God is a pious, kind, godly, and domestic wife, with whom thou mayest live peaceably, and to whom thou mayest intrust all thy possessions, yea, thy body and thy life.
—Martin Luther (1483–1546) German Protestant Theologian
Sole partner, and sole part of all my joys, dearer thyself than all.
—John Milton (1608–74) English Poet, Civil Servant, Scholar, Debater
Why man, she is mine own; and I as rich in having such a jewel, as twenty seas if all their sands were pearl, the water nectar, and the rocks pure gold.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
My advice to you is to get married. If you find a good wife, you’ll be happy; if not, you’ll become a philosopher.
—Socrates (469BCE–399BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher
A light wife doth make a heavy husband.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
You are my true and honorable wife, as dear to me, as are the ruddy drops that visit my sad heart.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
I chose my wife, as she did her wedding gown, for qualities that would wear well.
—Oliver Goldsmith (1730–74) Irish Novelist, Playwright, Poet
In the election of a wife, as in a project of war, to err but once is to be undone forever.
—Conyers Middleton (1683–1750) English Clergyman, Theologian
No man knows what the wife of his bosom is—what a ministering angel she is, until he has gone with her through the fiery trials of this world.
—Washington Irving (1783–1859) American Essayist, Biographer, Historian
When a man opens the car door for his wife, it’s either a new car or a new wife.
—Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (1921–2021) Consort of Queen Elizabeth II
A wife is essential to great longevity; she is the receptacle of half a man’s cares, and two-thirds of his ill-humor.
—Charles Reade (1814–84) English Novelist, Playwright
Behind every successful man is a woman, behind her is his wife.
—Groucho Marx (1890–1977) American Actor, Comedian, Singer
The wife when danger or dishonor lurks, safest and seemliest by her husband stays, who guards her, or with her the worst endures.
—John Milton (1608–74) English Poet, Civil Servant, Scholar, Debater
The death of a man’s wife is like cutting down an ancient oak that has long shaded the family mansion. Henceforth the glare of the world, with its cares and vicissitudes, falls upon the widower’s heart, and there is nothing to break their force, or shield him from the full weight of misfortune. It is as if his right hand were withered; as if one wing of his angel was broken, and every movement that he made brought him to the ground. His eyes are dimmed and glassy, and when the film of death falls over him, he misses those accustomed tones which might have smoothed his passage to the grave.
—Alphonse de Lamartine (1790–1869) French Poet, Politician, Historian
Hanging and wiving go by destiny.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
There is one name which I can never utter without a reverence due to the religion which binds earth to heaven—a name cheered, beautified, exalted and hallowed—and that is the name of wife.
—Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton (1803–73) British Novelist, Poet, Politician
For a wife take the daughter of a good mother.
—Thomas Fuller (1608–61) English Cleric, Historian
One of the best hearing aids a man can have is an attentive wife.
—Groucho Marx (1890–1977) American Actor, Comedian, Singer
A man’s wife has more power over him than the state has.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Wives are young men’s mistresses; companions for middle age; and old men’s nurses.
—Francis Bacon (1561–1626) English Philosopher
Heaven will be no heaven to me if I do not meet my wife there.
—Andrew Jackson (1767–1845) American Head of State
A woman in a single state may be happy, or may be miserable, but most happy, and most miserable, these are epithets applicable only to the wife.
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834) English Poet, Literary Critic, Philosopher
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