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There are no accidents so unlucky from which clever people are not able to reap some advantage, and none so lucky that the foolish are not able to turn them to their own disadvantage.

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
People
Foolish
None
Advantage
Disadvantage
Lucky
Unlucky
Events
Disadvantages
Turn
Reap
Turns
Accidents
Able
Clever

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Whatever pretext we may give for our affections, often it is only interest and vanity which cause them.
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If it were not for poetry, few men would ever fall in love.
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A woman is faithful to her first lover for a long time - unless she happens to take a second.
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What renders other people's vanity insufferable is that it wounds our own.
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We sometimes think that we hate flattery, but we only hate the manner in which it is done. [Fr., On croit quelquefoir hair la flatterie maid on ne hait que a maniere de flatter.]
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People are often vain of their passions, even of the worst, but envy is a passion so timid and shame-faced that no one ever dare avow her.
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A man does not please long when he has only species of wit.
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Those who are incapable of committing great crimes do not readily suspect them in others.
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We take less pains to be happy, than to appear so.
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It is with true love as it is with ghosts everyone talks about it, but few have seen it.
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Death, like the sun, cannot be looked at steadily.
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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.
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Truth does less good in the world than its appearances do harm.
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We rarely think people have good sense unless they agree with us.
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We should wish for few things with eagerness, if we perfectly knew the nature of that which was the object of our desire.
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Old fools are greater fools than young ones.
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One can find women who have never had one love affair, but it is rare indeed to find any who have had only one.
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The vices enter into the composition of the virtues, as poisons into that of medicines. Prudence collects and arranges them, and uses them beneficially against the ills of life.
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The strongest symptom of wisdom in man is his being sensible of his own follies.
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We would rather speak ill of ourselves than not talk about ourselves at all.
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