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Francois de La Rochefoucauld Quotes - Page 44

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We often act treacherously more from weakness than from a fixed motive.

We often act treacherously more from weakness than from a fixed motive.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Weakness, Fixed, Motive

A man would rather say evil of himself than say nothing.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Men, Evil

Praise is flattery, artful, hidden, delicate, which gratifies differently him who praises and him who is praised. The one takes it as the reward of merit, the other bestows it to show his impartiality and knowledge.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Rewards, Merit, Flattery

We often select envenomed praise which, by a reaction upon those we praise, shows faults we could not have shown by other means.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Mean, Faults, Praise

Few are sufficiently wise to prefer censure which is useful to praise which is treacherous.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Wise, Praise, Treacherous

The desire which urges us to deserve praise strengthens our good qualities, and praise given to wit, valour, and beauty, tends to increase them.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Desire, Quality, Praise

There are persons whose only merit consists in saying and doing stupid things at the right time, and who ruin all if they change their manners.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Stupid, Ruins, Merit

If one acts rightly and honestly, it is difficult to decide whether it is the effect of integrity or skill.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Integrity, Skills, Difficult

The evil that we do does not attract to us so much persecution and hatred as our good qualities.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Evil, Hatred, Quality
"The Moral Maxims and Reflections". Book by François de La Rochefoucauld. Maxim 29, 1678.

Our distrust of another justifies his deceit.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Deceit, Distrust, Justify

Instead of considering that the worst way to persuade or please others is to try thus strongly to please ourselves, and that to listen well and to answer well are some of the greatest charms we can have in conversation.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Trying, Answers, Way

The hate of favourites is only a love of favour. The envy of NOT possessing it, consoles and softens its regrets by the contempt it evinces for those who possess it, and we refuse them our homage, not being able to detract from them what attracts that of the rest of the world.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Regret, Hate, Envy

Neither love nor fire can subsist without perpetual motion; both cease to live so soon as they cease to hope, or to fear.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Fire, Perpetual, Perpetual Motion
"The Moral Maxims and Reflections". Book by François de La Rochefoucauld. Maxim 75, 1678.

What renders us so changeable in our friendship is, that it is difficult to know the qualities of the soul, but easy to know those of the mind.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Soul, Mind, Quality

We often persuade ourselves to love people who are more powerful than we are, yet interest alone produces our friendship; we do not give our hearts away for the good we wish to do, but for that we expect to receive.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Powerful, Heart, People

The daily employment of cunning marks a little mind, it generally happens that those who resort to it in one respect to protect themselves lay themselves open to attack in another.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Mind, Employment, Littles

Too great cleverness is but deceptive delicacy, true delicacy is the most substantial cleverness.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Delicacy, Cleverness, Deceptive

Fortune turns all things to the advantage of those on whom she smiles.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Advantage, Fortune, Turns
"Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims". Book by François de La Rochefoucauld, Maxim No. 60, 1665.

There is real love just as there are real ghosts; every person speaks of it, few persons have seen it.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Real, Ghost, Speak

Everyone blames his memory, no one blames his judgment.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Memories, Blame, Judgment

The largest ambition has the least appearance of ambition when it meets with an absolute impossibility in compassing its object.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Ambition, Appearance, Objects

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