La Rochefoucauld Quotes
Nature has concealed at the bottom of our minds talents and abilities of which we are not aware.
One cannot answer for his courage when he has never been in danger.
We are much harder on people who betray us in small ways than on people who betray others in great ones.
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
Idleness and fear keeps us in the path of duty, but our virtue often gets the praise.
Moderation is the feebleness and sloth of the soul, whereas ambition is the warmth and activity of it.
Sometimes, occasions occur in life which demand you to be a little foolish in order to skillfully extricate yourself.
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.
A certain harmony should be kept between actions and ideas if we want to fully develop the effects they can produce.
It is the habit of mediocre minds to condemn all that is beyond their grasp.
Small minds are much distressed by little things. Great minds see them all but are not upset by them.
It is a great act of cleverness to be able to conceal one's being clever.
We would rather speak ill of ourselves than not talk about ourselves at all.
Humility is the altar upon which God wishes that we should offer Him His sacrifices.
A clever man reaps some benefit from the worst catastrophe, and a fool can turn even good luck to his disadvantage.
A wise man thinks it more advantageous not to join the battle than to win.
Nothing is so contagious as example; and we never do any great good or evil which does not produce its like.
The simplest man with passion will be more persuasive than the most eloquent without.
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.
We often forgive those who bore us, but we cannot forgive those whom we bore.
One can find women who have never had one love affair, but it is rare indeed to find any who have had only one.
Numberless arts appear foolish whose secret motives are most wise and weighty.
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.
Some people displease with merit, and others' very faults and defects are pleasing.
We have more ability than will power, and it is often an excuse to ourselves that we imagine that things are impossible.
There are few people who are more often in the wrong than those who cannot endure to be so.
Every one speaks well of his own heart, but no one dares speak well of his own mind.