Francois De La Rochefoucauld Quotes
A wise man thinks it more advantageous not to join the battle than to win.
Moderation is the feebleness and sloth of the soul, whereas ambition is the warmth and activity of it.
Gratitude is like credit; it is the backbone of our relations; frequently we pay our debts not because equity demands that we should, but to facilitate future loans.
What seems to be generosity is often no more than disguised ambition, which overlooks a small interest in order to secure a great one.
The simplest man with passion will be more persuasive than the most eloquent without.
Small minds are much distressed by little things. Great minds see them all but are not upset by them.
A certain harmony should be kept between actions and ideas if we want to fully develop the effects they can produce.
The better part of one's life consists of his friendships. ABRAHAM LINCOLN, letter to Joseph Gillespie, July 13, 1849 Friendship is insipid to those who have experienced love.
Sometimes, occasions occur in life which demand you to be a little foolish in order to skillfully extricate yourself.
Idleness and fear keeps us in the path of duty, but our virtue often gets the praise.
It is a great act of cleverness to be able to conceal one's being clever.
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
One can find women who have never had one love affair, but it is rare indeed to find any who have had only one.
We often forgive those who bore us, but we cannot forgive those whom we bore.
Sometimes we lose friends for whose loss our regret is greater than our grief, and others for whom our grief is greater than our regret.
We have more ability than will power, and it is often an excuse to ourselves that we imagine that things are impossible.
It is more often from pride than from ignorance that we are so obstinately opposed to current opinions; we find the first places taken, and we do not want to be the last.
What is called generosity is usually only the vanity of giving; we enjoy the vanity more than the thing given.
We are inconsolable at being deceived by our enemies and being betrayed by our friends, yet we are often content in be being treated like that by our own selves.
There are some persons who only disgust with their abilities, there are persons who please even with their faults.
We may seem great in an employment below our worth, but we very often look little in one that is too big for us.
It is as easy to deceive one's self without perceiving it, as it is difficult to deceive others without their finding out.
There are few people who are more often in the wrong than those who cannot endure to be so.
Numberless arts appear foolish whose secret motives are most wise and weighty.
We only confess our little faults to persuade people that we have no big ones.
Some people displease with merit, and others' very faults and defects are pleasing.
We do not despise all those who have vices, but we do despise those that have no virtue.
People that are conceited of their own merit take pride in being unfortunate, that themselves and others may think them considerable enough to be the envy and the mark of fortune.
We are easily comforted for the misfortunes of our friends, when those misfortunes give us an occasion of expressing our affection and solicitude.
They that apply themselves to trifling matters commonly become incapable of great ones.
