Quote

Whatever pretended causes we may blame our afflictions upon, it is often nothing but self-interest and vanity that produce them.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Change background

T
T
T

Change font

TAGS & TOPICS

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
Interest
Whatever
Afflictions
Upon
Pretended
Often
Affliction
May
Vanity
Nothing
Blame
Self
Produce
Causes

More quotes by Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Image
Those who are condemned to death affect sometimes a constancy and contempt for death which is only the fear of facing it so that one may say that this constancy and contempt are to their mind what the bandage is to their eyes.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Image
Great men should not have great faults.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Image
What men have called friendship is only a social arrangement, a mutual adjustment of interests, an interchange of services given and received it is, in sum, simply a business from which those involved propose to derive a steady profit for their own self-love.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Image
Idleness and constancy fix the mind to what it finds easy and agreeable. This habit always confines and cramps up our knowledge and no one has ever taken the trouble to stretch and carry his understanding as far as it could go.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Image
Politeness is a desire to be treated politely, and to be esteemed polite oneself.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Image
The most violent passions sometimes leave us at rest, but vanity agitates us constantly.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Image
If we have not peace within ourselves, it is in vain to seek it from outward sources.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Image
Raillery is more insupportable than wrong because we have a right to resent injuries, but are ridiculous in being angry at a jest.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Image
Few are sufficiently wise to prefer censure which is useful to praise which is treacherous.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Image
It is with true love as it is with ghosts everyone talks about it, but few have seen it.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Image
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
Image
If we took as much pains to be what we ought, as we do to deceive others by disguising what we are we might appear as we are, without being at the trouble of any disguise.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Image
We often bore others when we think we cannot possibly bore them.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Image
Those who occupy their minds with small matters, generally become incapable of greatness.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Image
Some people resemble ballads which are only sung for a certain time.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Image
The health of the soul is as precarious as that of the body for when we seem secure from passions, we are no less in danger of their infection than we are of falling ill when we appear to be well.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Image
We feel good and ill only in proportion to our self-love.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Image
In order to succeed in the world people do their upmost to appear successful.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Image
Men would not live in society long if they were not each others dupes.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Image
Numberless arts appear foolish whose secret motives are most wise and weighty.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld