Our good qualities expose us more to hatred and persecution than all the ill we do.
Francois de La RochefoucauldPraise is a more ingenious, concealed, and subtle kind of flattery, that satisfies both the giver and the receiver, though by verydifferent ways. The one accepts it as a reward due to his merit; the other gives it that he may be looked upon as a just and discerning person.
Francois de La RochefoucauldJealousy is in some measure just and reasonable, since it merely aims at keeping something that belongs to us or we think belongsto us, whereas envy is a frenzy that cannot bear anything that belongs to others.
Francois de La RochefoucauldIt is harder to hide the feelings we have than to feign the ones we do not have.
Francois de La RochefoucauldThe largest ambition has the least appearance of ambition when it meets with an absolute impossibility in compassing its object.
Francois de La RochefoucauldWe 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.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld