François de La Rochefoucauld Quotes

“That conduct often seems ridiculous the secret reasons of which are wise and solid.”

“We promise according to our hopes and perform according to our fears.”

“We promise in proportion to our hopes, and we deliver in proportion to our fears.”

“Our desires always disappoint us; for though we meet with something that gives us satisfaction, yet it never thoroughly answers our expectation. [However disappointment can always be removed if we remember it could have turned out worse.]”

“Confidence in conversation has a greater share than wit.”

“We often shed tears that deceive ourselves after deceiving others.”

“Penetration has an air of divination; it pleases our vanity more than any other quality of the mind.”

“We can be more clever than one, but not more clever than all.”

“There is something to be said for jealousy, because it only designs the preservation of some good which we either have or think wehave a right to. But envy is a raging madness that cannot bear the wealth or fortune of others.”

“Innocence does not find near so much protection as guilt.”

“We do not despise all those who have vices, but we do despise those that have no virtue.”

“The reason why lovers are never bored together is that they are always talking of themselves.”

“None deserve praise for being good who have not the spirit to be bad: goodness, for the most part, is nothing but indolence or weakness of will.”

“We never desire strongly, what we desire rationally.”

“One of the greatest and also the commonest of faults is for men to believe that, because they never hear their shortcomings spoken of, or read about them in cold print, others can have no knowledge of them. GEORG CHRISTOPH LICHTENBERG, The Reflections of Lichtenberg We are often more agreeable through our faults than our good qualities.”

“Generosity is the vanity of giving.”

“The hate of favourites is only a love of favour. The envy of NOT possessing it, consoles and softens its regrets by the contempt it evinces for those who possess it, and we refuse them our homage, not being able to detract from them what attracts that of the rest of the world.”

“There is such a thing as a general revolution which changes the taste of men as it changes the fortunes of the world.”

“A woman often thinks she regrets the lover, when she only regrets the love.”

“Those who most obstinately oppose the most widely-held opinions more often do so because of pride than lack of intelligence. They find the best places in the right set already taken, and they do not want back seats.”

“Jealousy is always born with love, but does not die with it. In jealousy there is more of self-love than of love to another.”

“If we did not flatter ourselves, the flattery of others could never harm us.”

“Men are often so foolish as to boast and value themselves upon their passions, even those that are most vicious. But envy is a passion so full of cowardice and shame that no one every ever had the confidence to own it.”

“If it requires great tact to speak to the purpose, it requires no less to know when to be silent.”

“It is pointless for a woman to be young unless pretty, or to be pretty unless young.”