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Francois De La Rochefoucauld Quotes


One is never fortunate or as unfortunate as one imagines.

Only the contemptible fear contempt.

Our actions seem to have their lucky and unlucky stars, to which a great part of that blame and that commendation is due which is given to the actions themselves.

Our aversion to lying is commonly a secret ambition to make what we say considerable, and have every word received with a religious respect.

Our concern for the loss of our friends is not always from a sense of their worth, but rather of our own need of them and that we have lost some who had a good opinion of us.

Our virtues are often, in reality, no better than vices disguised.

Passion makes idiots of the cleverest men, and makes the biggest idiots clever.

People always complain about their memories, never about their minds.

People that are conceited of their own merit take pride in being unfortunate, that themselves and others may think them considerable enough to be the envy and the mark of fortune.

People's personalities, like buildings, have various facades, some pleasant to view, some not.

Perfect behavior is born of complete indifference.

Perfect courage is to do without witnesses what one would be capable of doing with the world looking on.

Perfect Valor is to do, without a witness, all that we could do before the whole world.

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

Perhaps being old is having lighted rooms inside your head, and people in them, acting. People you know, yet can't quite name.

Philosophy finds it an easy matter to vanquish past and future evils, but the present are commonly too hard for it.

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

Pride does not wish to owe and vanity does not wish to pay.

Pride, which inspires us with so much envy, is sometimes of use toward the moderating of it too.

Quarrels would not last long if the fault was only on one side.