Too great cleverness is but deceptive delicacy, true delicacy is the most substantial cleverness.
Francois de La RochefoucauldEveryone agrees that a secret should be kept intact, but everyone does not agree as to the nature and importance of secrecy. Too often we consult ourselves as to what we should say, what we should leave unsaid. There are few permanent secrets, and the scruple against revealing them will not last forever.
Francois de La RochefoucauldWe do not praise others, ordinarily, but in order to be praised ourselves.
Francois de La RochefoucauldOur own distrust gives a fair pretence for the knavery of other people.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld