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Francois de La Rochefoucauld Quotes - Page 19

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To praise princes for virtues they do not possess is to insult them without fear of consequences.

To praise princes for virtues they do not possess is to insult them without fear of consequences.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Insult, Praise, Virtue

A person well satisfied with themselves is seldom satisfied with others, and others, rarely are with them.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Judging, Satisfied, Wells

What makes us so bitter against people who outwit us is that they think themselves cleverer than we are.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Loss, Thinking, People
"The Moral Maxims and Reflections". Book by François de La Rochefoucauld. Maxim 350, 1678.

We acknowledge our faults in order to repair by our sincerity the damage they have done us in the eyes of others.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Eye, Order, Damage

Love, all agreeable as it is, charms more by the fashion in which it displays itself, than by its own true merit.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Love, Fashion, Merit

Truth does not do as much good in the world as its imitations do harm.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Doe, World, Imitation

The most violent passions sometimes leave us at rest, but vanity agitates us constantly.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Passion, Vanity, Sometimes

Vices are ingredients of virtues just as poisons are ingredients of remedies. Prudence mixes and tempers them and uses them effectively against life's ills.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Vices, Poison, Use

The greatest fault of a penetrating wit is to go beyond the mark.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Faults, Mark, Wit
"The Moral Maxims and Reflections". Book by François de La Rochefoucauld. Maxim 377, 1678.

There is scarcely any man sufficiently clever to appreciate all the evil he does.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Clever, Men, Appreciate

No men are oftener wrong than those that can least bear to be so.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Men, Bears

We should scarcely desire things ardently if we were perfectly acquainted with what we desire.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Desire, Should, Miscellaneous

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.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Men, Personality, Culture

Strength and weakness of mind are misnomers; they are really nothing but the good or bad health of our bodily organs.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Health, Mind, Weakness

Moderation is like sobriety: you would like to have some more, but are afraid of making yourself ill.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Sobriety, Risk, Moderation

Some weak people are so sensible of their weakness as to be able to make a good use of it.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
People, Weakness, Use

Gratitude is like the good faith of traders: it maintains commerce, and we often pay, not because it is just to discharge our debts, but that we may more readily find people to trust us.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Gratitude, People, Debt

There is no accident so unfortunate but wise men will make some advantage of it, nor any so entirely fortunate but fools may turn it to their own prejudice.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Wise, Men, Prejudice

Some people resemble ballads which are only sung for a certain time.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
People, Ballads, Certain
"Maxims". No. 220,

There are few occasions when we should make a bad bargain by giving up the good on condition that no ill was said of us.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Giving Up, Should, Said

It is worth nothing to be young without being beautiful, nor to be beautiful without being young.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Beauty, Beautiful, Young

It is a species of coquetry to make a parade of never practising it.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Coquette, Coquetry, Parades
"Maxims". No. 110, 1665 - 1678.

Narrowness of mind is often the cause of obstinacy; we do not easily believe beyond what we see.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Believe, Mind, Causes

The 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 Rochefoucauld
Art, Passion, Men
"Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations" by Jehiel Keeler Hoyt, p. 572-73, Maxims. No. 9, 1922.

We frequently do good in order to enable us to do evil later with impunity exemption of punishment.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Order, Punishment, Evil

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