1,221 Quotes by François de La Rochefoucauld

The man whom no one pleases is much more unhappy than the man who pleases no one.

Men often pass from love to ambition, but they seldom come back again from ambition to love.

History never embraces more than a small part of reality

Moderation is caused by the fear of exciting the envy and contempt which those merit who are intoxicated with their good fortune; it is a vain display of our strength of mind, and in short the moderation of men at their greatest height is only a desire to appear greater than their fortune.

Jealousy is in some measure just and reasonable, since it merely aims at keeping something that belongs to us or we think belongsto us, whereas envy is a frenzy that cannot bear anything that belongs to others.

Jealousy is not love, but self-love.

The head does not know how to play the part of the heart for long.

That which makes the vanity of others unbearable to us is that which wounds our own.

Heat of blood makes young people change their inclinations often, and habit makes old ones keep to theirs a great while.