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Francois de La Rochefoucauld (Writer)

A man who finds no satisfaction in himself will seek for it in vain elsewhere.
— Francois de La Rochefoucauld action
Nobody deserves to be praised for goodness unless he is strong enough to be bad, for any other goodness is usually merely inertia or lack of will-power.
— François de La Rochefoucauld power
There is a certain dignity of manner independent of fortune, a certain distinctive air which seems to mark us out for great things. It is a value we set upon ourselves without realizing it, and by means of this quality we claim other men’s deference as our due. This does more to set us above them than birth, honors, and merit itself.
— François de La Rochefoucauld men
Ce qui nous donne tant d’aigreur contre ceux qui nous font des finesses, c’est qu’ils croient être plus habiles que nous.What makes us so bitter against people who outwit us is that they think themselves cleverer than we are. Maxim 350.
— François de La Rochefoucauld people
Il est plus honteux de se défier de ses amis que den être trompé.It is more disgraceful to distrust than to be deceived by our friends. Variant translation: It is more shameful to distrust our friends than to be deceived by them. Maxim 84.
— François de La Rochefoucauld friends
Le soleil ni la mort ne se peuvent regarder fixement.Neither the sun nor death can be looked at steadily. Maxim 26. Sometimes incorrectly translated as with a steady eye.
— François de La Rochefoucauld death
Nous pardonnons souvent à ceux qui nous ennuient, mais nous ne pouvons pardonner à ceux que nous ennuyons.We often forgive those who bore us, but we cannot forgive those whom we bore. Maxim 304.
— François de La Rochefoucauld forgive
Old men delight in giving good advice as a consolation for the fact that they can no longer provide bad examples.
— François de La Rochefoucauld men
Si nous navions point de défauts, nous ne prendrions pas tant de plaisir à en remarquer dans les autres.If we had no faults, we should not take so much pleasure in noting those of others. Maxim 31.
— François de La Rochefoucauld pleasure
A man will often believe himself a leader when he is led; while with his mind he endeavours to reach one goal, his heart insensibly drags him toward another.
— François de La Rochefoucauld war
Ce que les hommes ont nommé amitié nest quune société, quun ménagement réciproque dintérêts, et quun échange de bons offices; ce nest enfin quun commerce où lamour-propre se propose toujours quelque chose à gagner.Friendship is only a reciprocal conciliation of interests, and an exchange of good offices; it is a species of commerce out of which self-love always expects to gain something. Maxim 83.
— François de La Rochefoucauld love
Ce qui fait que les amants et les maîtresses ne sennuient point dêtre ensemble, cest quils parlent toujours deux-mêmes.Lovers never get tired of each other, because they are always talking about themselves. Variant translation: What makes lovers and their mistresses never weary of being together is that they are always talking about themselves. Maxim 312.
— François de La Rochefoucauld love
Cest une ennuyeuse maladie que de conserver sa santé par un trop grand régime.Preserving your health by too strict a diet is a tedious illness. Maxim 72 of the Maximes supprimées.
— François de La Rochefoucauld health
En amour, celui qui est guéri le premier est toujours le mieux guéri.In love, the first healed is the best healed. Maxim 417.
— François de La Rochefoucauld love
Friendship is only a reciprocal conciliation of interests, and an exchange of good offices; it is a species of commerce out of which self-love always expects to gain something.
— François de La Rochefoucauld love
Il est difficile de définir lamour. Dans lâme cest une passion de régner, dans les esprits cest une sympathie, et dans le corps ce nest quune envie cachée et délicate de posséder ce que lon aime après beaucoup de mystères.It is difficult to define love. In the soul it is a passion to rule; in the mind it is sympathy; and in the body it is only a hidden and tactful desire to possess what we love after many mysteries. Maxim 68.
— François de La Rochefoucauld love
Il faut de plus grandes vertus pour soutenir la bonne fortune que la mauvaise.We need greater virtues to sustain good than evil fortune. Maxim 25.
— François de La Rochefoucauld evil
Il nest pas si dangereux de faire du mal à la plupart des hommes que de leur faire trop de bien.It is less dangerous to treat most men badly than to treat them too well. Maxim 238.
— François de La Rochefoucauld art
Il y a de bons mariages, mais il ny en a point de délicieux.There are good marriages, but no delicious ones. Maxim 113.
— François de La Rochefoucauld marriage
It is better to set ones mind to bearing the misfortunes that are happening than to think of those that may happen.
— François de La Rochefoucauld mind
La bonne grâce est au corps ce que le bon sens est à lesprit.What grace is to the body, good sense is to the mind. Maxim 67.
— François de La Rochefoucauld mind
La philosophie triomphe aisément des maux passés et des maux à venir. Mais les maux présents triomphent delle.Philosophy triumphs easily over past and future evils; but present evils triumph over it. Maxim 22. Compare: This same philosophy is a good horse in the stable, but an arrant jade on a journey, Oliver Goldsmith, The Good-Natured Man, Act i.
— François de La Rochefoucauld philosophy
Le mal que nous faisons ne nous attire pas tant de persécution et de haine que nos bonnes qualités.The evil that we do does not attract to us so much persecution and hatred as our good qualities. Maxim 29.
— François de La Rochefoucauld evil
Le silence est le parti le plus sûr de celui qui se défie de soi-même.Silence is the surest resolve for him who distrusts himself. Maxim 79.
— François de La Rochefoucauld art
Maxim 347. Compare: That was excellently observed, say I when I read a passage in another where his opinion agrees with mine. When we differ, then I pronounce him to be mistaken. Jonathan Swift, Thoughts on Various Subjects.
— François de La Rochefoucauld thoughts
Moderation has been called a virtue to limit the ambition of great men, and to console undistinguished people for their want of fortune and their lack of merit.
— François de La Rochefoucauld people
Notre repentir nest pas tant un regret du mal que nous avons fait, quune crainte de celui qui nous en peut arriver.Our repentance is not so much sorrow for the ill we have done as a fear of the ill that may befall us. Maxim 180.
— François de La Rochefoucauld fear
Nous promettons selon nos espérances, et nous tenons selon nos craintes.We promise according to our hopes; we fulfill according to our fears. Maxim 38.
— François de La Rochefoucauld hope
On nest jamais si heureux ni si malheureux quon simagine.One is never so happy or so unhappy as one fancies. Maxim 49.
— François de La Rochefoucauld happy
Sincerity is an openness of heart; we find it in very few people; what we usually see is only an artful dissimulation to win the confidence of others.
— François de La Rochefoucauld art
Tel homme est ingrat, qui est moins coupable de son ingratitude que celui qui lui a fait du bien.A man may be ungrateful but is less chargeable with ingratitude than his benefactor. Maxim 96.
— François de La Rochefoucauld man
The art of using moderate abilities to advantage wins praise, and often acquires more reputation than actual brilliancy.Maxim 162.
— François de La Rochefoucauld art
What we term virtues are often but a mass of various actions and diverse interests, which fortune or our own industry manage to arrange; and it is not always from valour or from chastity that men are brave, and women chaste.
— François de La Rochefoucauld women

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