Francois VI Duc de La Rochefoucauld
Francois VI Duc de La Rochefoucauld
finds man peace seek useless within
When a man finds no peace within himself, it is useless to seek it elsewhere.
eloquent man natural passions persuasive rules simplest
The passions are the only advocates which always persuade. They are a natural art, the rules of which are infallible; and the simplest man with passion will be more persuasive than the most eloquent without.
clever evil extent full hardly man recognize
There is hardly a man clever enough to recognize the full extent of the evil he does.
jealousy
In jealousy there is more of self-love than love.
complains judgment-and-judges nobody
Everyone complains of the badness of his memory, but nobody of his judgment.
appearance desire natural prevents seem
Nothing so much prevents our being natural as the desire to seem so.
acquire fame great judged means men ought
The fame of great men ought to be judged always by the means they used to acquire it.
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.
condition french-writer people render seldom ungrateful
We seldom find people ungrateful so long as we are in a condition to render them service.
credit except good opinions persons scarcely
We credit scarcely any persons with good sense except those who are of our opinion.
discharge great hurry obligation
Too great a hurry to discharge an obligation is a kind of ingratitude.
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.
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.