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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

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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
Greater
Envy
Desire
Appear
Intoxicated
Fear
Vain
Moderation
Mind
Fortune
Caused
Good
Exciting
Display
Men
Short
Contempt
Strength
Height
Greatest
Merit

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Some weak people are so sensible of their weakness as to be able to make a good use of it.
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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.
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The love of new acquaintance comes not so much from being weary of what we had before, or from any satisfaction there is in change, as from the distaste we feel in being too little admired by those that know us too well, and the hope of being more admired by those that know us less.
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To safeguard one's health at the cost of too strict a diet is a tiresome illness, indeed.
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It is with sincere affection or friendship as with ghosts and apparitions,--a thing that everybody talks of, and scarce any hath seen.
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When the soul is ruffled by the remains of one passion, it is more disposed to entertain a new one than when it is entirely curedand at rest from all.
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There is at least as much eloquence in the voice, eyes, and air of a speaker as in his choice of words.
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That which makes the vanity of others unbearable to us is that which wounds our own.
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To know oneself is not necessarily to improve oneself
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As one grows older, one becomes wiser and more foolish.
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There are two sorts of constancy in love one arises from continually discovering in the loved person new subjects for love, the other arises from our making a merit of being constant.
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Tricks and treachery are merely proofs of lack of skill.
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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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True bravery is shown by performing without witness what one might be capable of doing before all the world.
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Not all who discharge their debts of gratitude should flatter themselves that they are grateful.
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Love has its name borrowed by a great number of dealings and affairs that are attributed to it--in which it has no greater part than the Doge in what is done at Venice.
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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.
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Jealousy is not so much the love of another as the love of ourselves.
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What often prevents our abandoning ourselves to a single vice is, our having more than one.
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