1,221 Quotes by François de La Rochefoucauld

In infants, levity is a prettiness; in men a shameful defect; but in old age, a monstrous folly.

Those who occupy their minds with small matters, generally become incapable of greatness.

Criticism sometimes is really praise, and praise sometimes slander.

Chance corrects us of many faults that reason would not know how to correct.

Moderation is a fear of falling into that envy and contempt which those who grow giddy with their good fortune quite justly draw upon themselves. It is a vain boasting of the greatness of our mind.

To awaken a man who is deceived as to his own merit is to do him as bad a turn as that done to the Athenian madman who was happy in believing that all the ships touching at the port belonged to him.

A person well satisfied with themselves is seldom satisfied with others, and others, rarely are with them.

The defects and faults of the mind are like wounds in the body; after all imaginable care has been taken to heal them up, still there will be a scar left behind, and they are in continual danger of breaking the skin and bursting out again.

Sincerity is an openness of heart; we find it in very few people; what we usually see is only an artful dissimulation to win the confidence of others.