Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
François VI, Duc de La Rochefoucauld, Prince de Marcillacla ʁɔʃfuˈko]; 15 September 1613 – 17 March 1680) was a noted French author of maxims and memoirs. It is said that his world-view was clear-eyed and urbane, and that he neither condemned human conduct nor sentimentally celebrated it. Born in Paris on the Rue des Petits Champs, at a time when the royal court was vacillating between aiding the nobility and threatening it, he was considered an exemplar of the accomplished 17th-century...
NationalityFrench
ProfessionWriter
Date of Birth15 September 1613
CountryFrance
It is worth nothing to be young without being beautiful, nor to be beautiful without being young.
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.
Some people resemble ballads which are only sung for a certain time.
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.
He that would be a great man must learn to turn every accident to some advantage.
L'absence diminue les mediocres passions, et augmente les grandes,comme le vent eteint les bougies, et allume le feu. Absence diminishes commonplace passions, and increases great ones, as wind extinguishes candles and kindles fire.
Ability wins us the esteem of the true men; luck, that of the people.
It is easier to deceive yourself, and to do so unperceived, than to deceive another.
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.
Some weak people are so sensible of their weakness as to be able to make a good use of it.
It often happens that things come into the mind in a more finished form than could have been achieved after much study.
Generosity is the vanity of giving.
Moderation is like sobriety: you would like to have some more, but are afraid of making yourself ill.
Silence is the safest policy if you are unsure of yourself.