François La Rochefoucauld quotes

Duke François of the Rochefoucauld (1613 - 1680)
Amazing how relevant they are today:

Ability wins us the esteem of the true men; luck, that of the people.

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

Perfect courage means doing unwitnessed what we would be capable of with the world looking on.

We confess to little faults only to persuade others that we have no great ones.

Hope and fear are inseparable.

It is far easier to know men than to know man.

The wind which snuffs the candle fans the fire.

Why is it that our memory is good enough to retain the least triviality that happens to us, and yet not good enough to recollect how often we have told it to the same person?

Our virtues are most frequently but vices in disguise.

A true friend is the greatest of all blessings, and that which we take the least care of all to acquire.

Before we set our hearts too much upon anything, let us examine how happy those are who already possess it.

Few are agreeable in conversation, because each thinks more of what he intends to say than of what others are saying, and listens no more when he himself has a chance to speak.

Few things are impracticable in themselves; and it is for want of application, rather than of means, that men fail to succeed.

Good advice is something a man gives when he is too old to set a bad example.

Gratitude is merely the secret hope of further favors.

He who lives without folly isn't so wise as he thinks.

Hypocrisy is the homage which vice pays to virtue.

If we had no faults of our own, we would not take so much pleasure in noticing those of others.

It is often merely for an excuse that we say things are impossible.

Jealousy feeds upon suspicion, and it turns into fury or it ends as soon as we pass from suspicion to certainty.

No persons are more frequently wrong, than those who will not admit they are wrong.

One cannot answer for his courage when he has never been in danger.

Our repentance is not so much regret for the ill we have done as fear of the ill that may happen to us in consequence.

The glory of great men should always be measured by the means they have used to acquire it.

The height of cleverness is to be able to conceal it.

The pleasure of love is in loving.

To establish oneself in the world, one has to do all one can to appear established. (fake it 'till you make it...LOL)

We all have strength enough to endure the misfortunes of others.

The passions often engender (cause) their contraries (opposites).

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

We should manage our fortunes 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 rarely think people have good sense unless they agree with us.

When we are unable to find tranquility within ourselves, it is useless to seek it elsewhere. (Speaking long term, I would assume)

What seems to be generosity is often no more than disguised ambition, which overlooks a small interest in order to secure a great one. (I'll have to think about this one)

However brilliant an action, it should not be esteemed great unless the result of a great motive. (Hmmm...)

(And the one that got me started on all of this that I can't quite verify is his) Love is blind, but friendship closes its eyes.

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