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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

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We get so much in the habit of wearing disguises before others that we finally appear disguised before ourselves.
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The desire which urges us to deserve praise strengthens our good qualities, and praise given to wit, valour, and beauty, tends to increase them.
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The man that thinks he loves his mistress for her own sake is mightily mistaken.
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Moderation is a fear of falling into that envy and contempt which those who grow giddy with their good fortune quite justly draw upon themselves. It is a vain boasting of the greatness of our mind.
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Men's happiness and misery depends altogether as much upon their own humor as it does upon fortune.
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Reconciliation with our enemies is simply a desire to better our condition, a weariness of war, or the fear of some unlucky thing from occurring.
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For envy, like lightning, generally strikes at the top Or any point which sticks out from the ordinary level. LUCRETIUS, De Rerum Natura Our envy always outlives the felicity of its object.
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The height of ability consists in a thorough knowledge of the real value of things, and of the genius of the age in which we live.
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The rust of business is sometimes polished off in a camp but never in a court.
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The reason that lovers never weary each other is because they are always talking about themselves.
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Virtues lose themselves in self-interest, as rivers in the sea.
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When our hatred is violent, it sinks us even beneath those we hate.
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The qualities we have do not make us so ridiculous as those which we affect to have. [Fr., On n'est jamais si ridicule par les qualites que l'on a que par celles que l'on affecte d'avoir.]
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Love of glory, fear of shame, greed for fortune, the desire to make life agreeable and comfortable, and the wish to depreciate others - all of these are often the causes of the bravery that is spoken so highly of by men.
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The strongest symptom of wisdom in man is his being sensible of his own follies.
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Sobriety is concern for one's health - or limited capacity.
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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.
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Our enemies' opinion of us comes closer to the truth than our own.
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We should often feel ashamed of our best actions if the world could see all the motives which produced them.
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Tis more dishonourable to distrust a friend than to be deceived by him.
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