Francois VI Duc de La Rochefoucauld
Francois VI Duc de La Rochefoucauld
credit except good opinions persons scarcely
We credit scarcely any persons with good sense except those who are of our opinion.
advice age-and-aging bad console good longer love people themselves
Old people love to give good advice to console themselves for no longer being able to set a bad example.
detail good happened last memory recall
Why is our memory good enough to recall to the last detail things that have happened to us, yet not good enough to recall how often we have told them to the same person.
evil good order
We often do good in order that we may do evil with impunity.
bringing contagious evil example good great
Nothing is so contagious as an example. We never do great good or evil without bringing about more of the same on the part of others.
discharge great hurry obligation
Too great a hurry to discharge an obligation is a kind of ingratitude.
finds man peace seek useless within
When a man finds no peace within himself, it is useless to seek it elsewhere.
faithful love remain struggle undergo
The struggle we undergo to remain faithful to one we love is little better than infidelity.
argument fault last lay quarrels
Quarrels would not last so long if the fault lay only on one side.
approach enemies judgments nearer truth
Our enemies approach nearer to truth in their judgments of us than we do ourselves.
constancy cute-love giving heart itself love perpetual preference sweet-love
Constancy in love is a perpetual inconstancy, in which the heart attaches itself successively to each of the lover's qualities, giving preference now to one, now to another.
becomes doubt entirely madness pass soon stops
Live on doubts; it becomes madness or stops entirely as soon as we pass from doubt to certainty.
faults french-writer half observing
If we had no faults of our own, we should not take half so much satisfaction in observing those of other people.
passion resist weakness
If we resist our passions, it is more through their weakness than from our strength.