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“There is a kind of elevation which does not depend on fortune; it is a certain air which distinguishes us, and seems to destine us for great things; it is a price which we imperceptibly set upon ourselves.”
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
“Gracefulness is to the body what understanding is to the mind.”
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
“If we are to judge of love by its consequences, it more nearly resembles hatred than friendship.”
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
“We are nearer loving those who hate us than those who love us more than we wish.”
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
“In the misfortunes of our best friends we always find something not altogether displeasing to us.”
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
“Great souls are not those who have fewer passions and more virtues than others, but only those who have greater designs.”
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
“In most of mankind gratitude is merely a secret hope of further favors.”
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
“Those who are incapable of committing great crimes do not readily suspect them in others.”
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
“It's easier to be wise for others than for ourselves.”
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
“The passions are the only orators which always persuade.”
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
“A refusal of praise is a desire to be praised twice.”
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
“When we disclaim praise, it is only showing our desire to be praised a second time.”
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
“It is easier to know men in general, than men in particular.”
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
“The mind is always the patsy of the heart.”
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
“Few things are impracticable in themselves; and it is for want of application, rather than of means, that men fail to succeed.”
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
“Those who occupy their minds with small matters, generally become incapable of greatness.”
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
“The accent of one's birthplace remains in the mind and in the heart as in one's speech.”
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
“We all have enough strength to endure the misfortunes of others.”
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
“Timidity is a fault for which it is dangerous to reprove persons whom we wish to correct of it.”
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
“In all professions each affects a look and an exterior to appear what he wishes the world to believe that he is. Thus we may say that the whole world is made up of appearances.”
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
“It is easier to appear worthy of a position one does not hold, than of the office which one fills.”
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
“Nothing prevents one from appearing natural as the desire to appear natural.”
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
“Taste may change, but inclination never.”
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
“The happiness and misery of men depend no less on temper than fortune.”
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
“Perfect Valor is to do, without a witness, all that we could do before the whole world.”
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
“We do not despise all those who have vices, but we do despise those that have no virtue.”
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
“Love often leads on to ambition, but seldom does one return from ambition to love.”
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
“Being a blockhead is sometimes the best security against being cheated by a man of wit.”
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
“The defects of the mind, like those of the face, grow worse with age.”
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
