Francois de La Rochefoucauld Quotes

The greatest miracle of love is the cure of coquetry.

Hypocrisy is the homage vice pays to virtue.

Those who are themselves incapable of great crimes are ever backward to suspect others.

We often pay our debts not because it is only fair that we should, but to make future loans easier.

There are bad people who would be less dangerous if they were quite devoid of goodness.

The prospect of being pleased tomorrow will never console me for the boredom of today.

We rarely think people have good sense unless they agree with us.

The desire to be thought clever often prevents a man from becoming so.

What keeps us from abandoning ourselves entirely to one vice, often, is the fact that we have several.

Our enemies' opinion of us comes closer to the truth than our own.

A wise man thinks it more advantageous not to join the battle than to win.

Those who occupy their minds with small matters, generally become incapable of greatness.

One kind of happiness is to know exactly at what point to be miserable.

For the credit of virtue we must admit that the greatest misfortunes of men are those into which they fall through their crimes.

The generality of men have, like plants, latent properties, which chance brings to light.

There are no circumstances, however unfortunate, that clever people do not extract some advantage from.

Neither the sun nor death can be looked at steadily.

Jealousy is in a manner just and reasonable, as it tends to preserve a good which belongs, or which we believe belongs to us, on the other hand envy is a fury which cannot endure the happiness of others.

Intrepidity is an extraordinary strength of soul, which raises it above the troubles, disorders and emotions which the sight of great perils can arouse in it; by this strength heroes maintain a calm aspect and preserve their reason and liberty in the most surprising and terrible accidents.

I always say to myself, what is the most important thing we can think about at this extraordinary moment.

The only thing that should surprise us is that there are still some things that can surprise us.

All our qualities, whether good or bad, are unstable and ambiguous, and almost all are at the mery of chance.

Opportunity makes us known to others, but more to ourselves.

The greatest of all gifts is the power to estimate things at their true worth

Repentance is not so much remorse for what we have done as the fear of the consequences.

When our vices desert us, we flatter ourselves that we are deserting our vices.

No fools are so difficult to manage as those with some brains.

Jealousy is not so much the love of another as the love of ourselves.

We feel good and ill only in proportion to our self-love.

To be a great man it is necessary to know how to profit by the whole of our good fortune.

We may sooner be brought to love them that hate us, than them that love us more than we would have them do.

We make promises to the extent that we hope-and keep them to the extent that we fear.

We should often blush at our noblest deeds if the world were to see all their underlying motives.

All the passions are nothing else than different degrees of heat and cold of the blood.

Some people displease with merit, and others' very faults and defects are pleasing.

Without humility, we keep all our defects; and they are only crusted over by pride, which conceals them from others, and often from ourselves.

When love becomes labored we welcome an act of infidelity towards ourselves to free us from fidelity.

There are very few people who are not ashamed of having been in love when they no longer love each other.

Nature makes merit, and fortune puts it to work.

Hatred is stronger than friendship.

Affected simplicity is an elegant imposture.

In every walk of life each man puts on a personality and outward appearance so as to look what he wants to be thought; in fact you might say that society is entirely made up of assumed personalities.

We promise according to our hopes and perform according to our fears.

Ability wins us the esteem of the true men; luck, that of the people.

The sure mark of one born with noble qualities is being born without envy.

Innocence does not find near so much protection as guilt.

Men would not live in society long if they were not each others dupes.

Narrow minds think nothing right that is above their own capacity.