François de La Rochefoucauld Quotes

“Considering how little the beginning or the ceasing to love is in our own power, it is foolish and unreasonable for the lover or his mistress to complain of one another's inconstancy.”

“Some men are so full of themselves that when they fall in love, they amuse themselves rather with their own passion than with theperson they love.”

“Everyone takes pleasure in returning small obligations, many people acknowledge moderate ones; but there are only a scarce few who do not pay great ones with ingratitude.”

“Too great haste to repay an obligation is a kind of ingratitude.”

“Men are inconsolable concerning the treachery of their friends or the deceptions of their enemies; and yet they are often very highly satisfied to be both deceived and betrayed by their own selves.”

“Politeness is a desire to be treated politely, and to be esteemed polite oneself.”

“However rare true love may be, it is less so than true friendship.”

“Our distrust of another justifies his deceit.”

“It is not enough to have great qualities; We should also have the management of them.”

“We often are consoled by our want of reason for misfortunes that reason could not have comforted.”

“Perfect valour consists in doing without witnesses that which we would be capable of doing before everyone.”

“Treachery is more often the effect of weakness than of a formed design.”

“The passions possess a certain injustice and self interest which makes it dangerous to follow them, and in reality we should distrust them even when they appear most trustworthy.”

“We seldom find people ungrateful so long as it is thought we can serve them.”

“The largest ambition has the least appearance of ambition when it meets with an absolute impossibility in compassing its object.”

“In love the deceit generally outstrips the distrust.”

“Constancy in love is a perpetual inconstancy which fixes our hearts successively to all the qualities of the person loved--sometimes admiring one and sometimes another above all the rest--so that this constancy roves as far as it can, and is no better than inconstancy, confined within the compass of one person.”

“Not all who discharge their debts of gratitude should flatter themselves that they are grateful.”

“Passion often makes fools of the wisest men and gives the silliest wisdom.”

“If one acts rightly and honestly, it is difficult to decide whether it is the effect of integrity or skill.”

“Some weak people are so sensible of their weakness as to be able to make a good use of it.”

“Some follies are caught, like contagious diseases.”

“Novelty is to love like bloom to fruit; it gives a luster which is easily effaced, but never returns.”

“The daily employment of cunning marks a little mind, it generally happens that those who resort to it in one respect to protect themselves lay themselves open to attack in another.”

“There are two sorts of constancy in love one arises from continually discovering in the loved person new subjects for love, the other arises from our making a merit of being constant.”