Fran�ois, Duque de La Rochefoucauld

France
15 Sep 1613 // 17 Mar 1680
Writer, Moralist

Quotes

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Virtue would go far if vanity did not keep it company
Too great haste to repay an obligation is a kind of ingratitude
To achieve greatness one should live as if they will never die
Those who occupy their minds with small matters, generally become incapable of greatness
Those who are incapable of committing great crimes do not readily suspect them in others
There is no disguise that can for long conceal love where it exists or simulate it where it does not
There are very few people who are not ashamed of having been in love when they no longer love each other
There are various sorts of curiosity; one is from interest, which makes us desire to know that which may be useful to us; and the other, from pride which comes from the wish to know what others are ignorant of
The virtues and vices are all put in motion by interest
The reason why so few people are agreeable in conversation is that each is thinking more about what he intends to say than others are saying
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On Anger: "For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind."
Essays
On Destiny: "Our destiny exercises its influence over us even when, as yet, we have not learned its nature: it is our future that lays down the law of our today."
Human, All Too Human
On Friendship: "A crowd is not company; and faces are but a gallery of pictures; and talk but a tinkling cymbal, where there is no love."
Essays