Great Throughts Treasury

This site is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Alan William Smolowe who gave birth to the creation of this database.

François de La Rochefoucauld, François VI, Duc de La Rochefoucauld, Prince de Marcillac, Francois A. F. Rochefoucauld-Liancourt

French Courtier, Moralist, Writer of Maxims and Memoirs

"Though indolence and timidity keep us to the path of duty, virtue often gets all the credit... Virtues lose themselves in self-interest, as rivers lose themselves in the sea."

"To be deceived by; our enemies or betrayed by our friends is insupportable; yet by ourselves are we often content to be so treated."

"To praise great actions with sincerity may be said to be taking part in them."

"To understand the world is wise than to condemn it. To study the world is better than to shun it. To use the world is nobler than to abuse it. To make the world better, lovelier, and happier, is the noblest work of man or woman... He who imagines he can do without the world deceives himself much; but he who fancies the world cannot do without him is still more mistaken."

"Truth does less good in the world than its appearances do harm."

"True bravery is shown by performing, without witnesses, what one might be capable of doing before all the world."

"Truth does not do so much good in the world as the appearance of it does evil."

"Truth is the foundation and the reason of the perfection of beauty, for of whatever stature a thing may be, it cannot be beautiful and perfect, unless it be truly what it should be, and possess truly all that it should have."

"Vanity is the greatest of all flatterers."

"Vanity causes us to do more things against our inclination than reason does."

"Vengeance always springs from weakness of spirit, which is incapable of enduring insults and injuries."

"Vices are ingredients of virtues just as poisons are ingredients of remedies. Prudence mixes and tempers them and uses them effectively against life's ills."

"Virtue is to the soul what health is to the body."

"We acknowledge our faults in order to repair by our sincerity the damage they have done us in the eyes of others."

"We all find in others the faults that are found in ourselves."

"We are always much better pleased to see those whom we have obliged than those who have obliged us."

"We all have the strength enough to endure the misfortune of others."

"We are ashamed to admit that we are jealous, but proud that we were and that we can be."

"We are inconsolable at being deceived by our enemies, and betrayed by our friends; and yet we are often content to be so by ourselves."

"We always love those who admire us; we do not always love those whom we admire."

"We are all quite capable of bearing up under other people's misfortunes."

"We are never made as ridiculous through the qualities we have as through those we pretend to."

"We are nearer loving those who hate us than those who love us more than we wish."

"We are never so happy nor so unhappy as we imagine."

"We are never so easily deceived as when intent on deceiving others."

"We are never so ridiculous from the habits we have as from those we affect to have."

"We are so accustomed to masquerade ourselves before others that we end by deceiving ourselves."

"We are so much accustomed to disguise ourselves to others, that at length we disguise ourselves to ourselves."

"We easily forget our faults when they are known only to us."

"We are not fond of praising, and never praise any one except from interested motives. Praise is a clever, concealed, and delicate flattery, which gratifies in different ways the giver and the receiver. The one takes it as a recompense of his merit, and the other bestows it to display his equity and discernment."

"We frequently pass from love to ambition, but one seldom returns from ambition to love."

"We have more power that will; and it is often by way of excuse to ourselves that we fancy things are impossible."

"We have few faults that are not more excusable in themselves than are the means which we use to conceal them."

"We may give advice, but we cannot inspire conduct."

"We have scarcely any faults which are not more excusable than the means we adopt to conceal them."

"We never condemn vice or praise virtue without a selfish motive."

"We often boast that we are never bored, but yet we are so conceited that we do not perceive how often we bore others."

"We never desire earnestly what we desire in reason."

"We often glory in the most criminal passion; but that of envy is so shameful that we dare not even own it."

"We promise according to our hopes, and perform according to our fears."

"We often shed tears which deceive ourselves after having deceived others."

"We seldom find people ungrateful as long as we are in a condition to render them services."

"We refuse praise from a desire to be praised twice."

"We should often have reason to be ashamed of our most brilliant actions if the world could see the motives from which they spring (sprang)."

"We sometimes think we hate flattery, when we only hate the manner in which we have been flattered."

"We take less pains to be happy than to appear so. ,"

"We should manage our fortune as we do our health - enjoy it when good, be patient when it is bad, and never apply violent remedies except in an extreme necessity."

"We should not judge of a man's merits by his great qualities, but by the use he makes of them."

"We think very few people sensible except those who are of our opinion."

"We try to make a virtue of vices we are loathe to correct."