Virtue would not make such advances if there were not a little vanity to keep it company.
Francois de La RochefoucauldPerseverance is neither praiseworthy nor blameworthy; for it seems to be only the enduring of certain inclinations and opinions which men neither give themselves nor take away from themselves.
Francois de La RochefoucauldFlattery is a counterfeit money which, but for vanity, would have no circulation.
Francois de La RochefoucauldThe 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