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Few are sufficiently wise to prefer censure which is useful to praise which is treacherous.
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
Wise
Treacherous
Censure
Sufficiently
Prefer
Useful
Praise
More quotes by Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Satire is at once the most agreeable and most dangerous of mental qualities. It always pleases when it is refined, but we always fear those who use it too much yet satire should be allowed when unmixed with spite, and when the person satirized can join in the satire.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
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.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Our good qualities expose us more to hatred and persecution than all the ill we do.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Timidity is a fault for which it is dangerous to reprove persons whom we wish to correct of it.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
The passions are the only orators that always persuade: they are, as it were, a natural art, the rules of which are infallible and the simplest man with passion is more persuasive than the most eloquent without it.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Those who occupy their minds with small matters, generally become incapable of greatness.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
There are some bad qualities which make great talents.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
The wind which snuffs the candle fans the fire.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Moderation resembles temperance. We are not so unwilling to eat more, as afraid of doing ourselves harm by it.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
We are easily comforted for the misfortunes of our friends, when those misfortunes give us an occasion of expressing our affection and solicitude.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Whatever pretext we may give for our affections, often it is only interest and vanity which cause them.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Few things are impracticable in themselves and it is for want of application, rather than of means, that men fail to succeed.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
The distempers of the soul have their relapses, as many and as dangerous as those of the body and what we take for a perfect cureis generally either an abatement of the same disease or the changing of that for another.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Flattery is a kind of bad money, to which our vanity gives us currency.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
We like to read others but we do not like to be read.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
For the credit of virtue we must admit that the greatest misfortunes of men are those into which they fall through their crimes.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
It is worth nothing to be young without being beautiful, nor to be beautiful without being young.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
The passions do very often give birth to others of a nature most contrary to their own. Thus avarice sometimes brings forth prodigality, and prodigality avarice a man's resolution is very often the effect of levity, and his boldness that of cowardice and fear.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Gallantry of mind consists in saying flattering things in an agreeable manner.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
The largest ambition has the least appearance of ambition when it meets with an absolute impossibility in compassing its object.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
