1,221 Quotes by François de La Rochefoucauld

There is no disguise which can hide love for long where it exists, or simulate it where it does not.

Clemency, which we make a virtue of, proceeds sometimes from vanity, sometimes from indolence, often from fear, and almost always from a mixture of all three.

We have not strength enough to follow our reason so far as it would carry us.

A small degree of wit, accompanied by good sense, is less tiresome in the long run than a great amount of wit without it.

The sure way to be cheated is to think one's self more cunning than others.

We should not be upset that others hide the truth from us, when we hide it so often from ourselves.

Gratitude is merely the secret hope of further favors.

It is difficult to like those whom we do not esteem; but it is no less so to like those whom we esteem more than ourselves.

It appears that nature has hid at the bottom of our hearts talents and abilities unknown to us. It is only the passions that have the power of bringing them to light, and sometimes give us views more true and more perfect than art could possibly do.