Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Ridicule dishonors a man more than dishonor does.

— Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Not to love is in love an infallible means of being loved.

— Francois de La Rochefoucauld

The head does not know how to play the part of the heart for long.

— Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Our hopes, often though they deceive us, lead us pleasantly along the path of life.

— Francois de La Rochefoucauld

There are more defects in temperament than in the mind.

— Francois de La Rochefoucauld

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

— Francois de La Rochefoucauld

There are some faults which, when well managed, make a greater figure than virtue itself.

— Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Whatever good things people say of us, they tell us nothing new.

— Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Old people are fond of giving good advice; it consoles them for no longer being capable of setting a bad example.

— Francois de La Rochefoucauld

We often brag that we are never bored with ourselves, and are so vain as never to think ourselves bad company.

— Francois de La Rochefoucauld

One man may be more cunning than another, but no one can be more cunning than all the world.

— Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Passion often renders the most clever man a fool, and sometimes renders the most foolish man clever.

— Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Prudence and love are inconsistent; in proportion as the last increases, the other decreases.

— Francois de La Rochefoucauld

In the human heart new passions are forever being born; the overthrow of one almost always means the rise of another.

— Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Only strong natures can really be sweet ones; those that seem sweet are in general only weak, and may easily turn sour.

— Francois de La Rochefoucauld

A small degree of wit, accompanied by good sense, is less tiresome in the long run than a great amount of wit…

— Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Jealousy springs more from love of self than from love of another.

— Francois de La Rochefoucauld

When our vices leave us, we like to imagine it is we who are leaving them.

— Francois de La Rochefoucauld

The heart is forever making the head its fool.

— Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Madmen and fools see everything through the medium of humor.

— Francois de La Rochefoucauld

We arrive at the various stages of life quite as novices.

— Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Cunning and treachery proceed from want of capacity.

— Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Solemnity is a device of the body to hide the faults of the mind.

— Francois de La Rochefoucauld

We are always bored by the very people by whom it is vital not to be bored.

— Francois de La Rochefoucauld

The sure way to be cheated is to think one's self more cunning than others.

— Francois de La Rochefoucauld

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

— Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Truth does less good in the world than its appearances do harm.

— Francois de La Rochefoucauld

To achieve greatness one should live as if they will never die.

— Francois de La Rochefoucauld

The gratitude of most men is but a secret desire of receiving greater benefits.

— Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Fortune converts everything to the advantage of her favorites.

— Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Women do not know all their powers of flirtation.

— Francois de La Rochefoucauld

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

— Francois de La Rochefoucauld

“Almost always we are bored by people to whom we ourselves are boring.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

We sometimes imagine we hate flattery, but we only hate the way we are flattered.

— Francois de La Rochefoucauld

The man who is ungrateful is often less to blame than his benefactor.

— François De La Rochefoucauld

Interest blinds some people, and enlightens others.

— Francois de La Rochefoucauld

To praise princes for virtues they are lacking in is a way of insulting them with impunity

— François De La Rochefoucauld

Some people are like popular songs that you only sing for a short time.

— Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Man only blames himself in order that he may be praised.

— Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Gallantry of mind consists in saying flattering things in an agreeable manner.

— Francois de La Rochefoucauld