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We would rather speak ill of ourselves than not talk about ourselves at all.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
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Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Age: 66 †
Born: 1613
Born: September 15
Died: 1680
Died: March 17
Memoirist
Military Personnel
Writer
Paris
France
François VI
Duc de La Rochefoucauld
Prince de Marcillac
François
Duc de La Rochefoucauld
Egotism
Ill
Talk
Rather
Speak
Would
More quotes by Francois de La Rochefoucauld
No accidents are so unlucky [bad] but that the wise may draw some advantage [good] from them.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Marriage is the only war in which you sleep with the enemy.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
All the passions make us commit faults love makes us commit the most ridiculous ones.
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That conduct often seems ridiculous the secret reasons of which are wise and solid.
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Cunning and treachery are the offspring of incapacity.
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The fondness or indifference that the philosophers expressed for life was merely a preference inspired by their self-love, and will no more bear reasoning upon than the relish of the palate or the choice of colors.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Perfect courage is to do without witnesses what one would be capable of doing with the world looking on.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
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.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
The reason that lovers never weary each other is because they are always talking about themselves.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
We should not judge a man's merits by his great qualities, but by the use he makes of them.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
No man deserves to be praised for his goodness, who has it not in his power to be wicked. Goodness without that power is generally nothing more than sloth, or an impotence of will.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Our aversion to lying is commonly a secret ambition to make what we say considerable, and have every word received with a religious respect.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
We are nearer loving those who hate us than those who love us more than we wish.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
We often see malefactors, when they are led to execution, put on resolution and a contempt of death which, in truth, is nothing else but fearing to look it in the face--so that this pretended bravery may very truly be said to do the same good office to their mind that the blindfold does to their eyes.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Sobriety is concern for one's health - or limited capacity.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Moderation is caused by the fear of exciting the envy and contempt which those merit who are intoxicated with their good fortune it is a vain display of our strength of mind, and in short the moderation of men at their greatest height is only a desire to appear greater than their fortune.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
All our qualities, whether good or bad, are unstable and ambiguous, and almost all are at the mery of chance.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Jealousy is in some measure just and reasonable, since it merely aims at keeping something that belongs to us or we think belongsto us, whereas envy is a frenzy that cannot bear anything that belongs to others.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Whatever ignominy or disgrace we have incurred, it is almost always in our power to reestablish our reputation.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Women in love sooner forgive great indiscretions than small infidelities.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
