High fortune makes both our virtues and vices stand out as objects that are brought clearly to view by the light.
Francois de La RochefoucauldWhat makes us so bitter against people who outwit us is that they think themselves cleverer than we are.
Francois de La RochefoucauldThe 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 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 Rochefoucauld