We are so accustomed to disguise ourselves to others that in the end we become disguised to ourselves.
¶ (Attributed)
Quotations by ...
François VI, Duc de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680) French author, maximist, noble
When we are unable to find tranquility within ourselves, it is useless to seek it elsewhere.
¶ (Attributed)
The fame of great men ought to be judged always by the means they used to acquire it.
¶ (Attributed)
A small degree of wit, accompanied by good sense, is less tiresome in the long run than a great amount of wit without it.
¶ (Attributed)
Those who are incapable of committing great crimes do not readily suspect them in others.
¶ (Attributed)
Behind many acts that are thought ridiculous there lie wise and weighty motives.
[Il y a une infinité de conduites qui paraissent ridicules, et dont les raisons cachées sont très sages et très solides.]
¶ (Attributed)
Before we set our hearts too much on anything, let us examine how happy are those who already possess it.
¶ (Attributed)
The glory of great men should always be measured by the means they have used to acquire it.
¶ Maxims #157 (1678)
Alternate translation: "The glory of a great man ought always to be estimated by the means used to acquire it."
The height of cleverness is to be able to conceal it.
¶ Maxims (1678)
One is never so happy or so unhappy as one thinks.
[On n'est jamais si heureux ni si malheureux qu'on s'imagine.]
¶ Maxims, # 49
There are very few people who are not ashamed of having been in love when they no longer love each other.
[Il n'y a guère de gens qui ne soient honteux de s'être aimés quand ils ne s'aiment plus.]
¶ Maxims, # 71
Il est du véritable amour comme de l'apparition des esprits tout le monde en parle, mais peu de gens en ont vu.
[True love is like ghosts, which everyone talks about and few have seen.]
¶ Maxims, # 76 (1678)
L'amour de la justice n'est en la plupart des hommes que la crainte de souffrir l'injustice.
[The love of justice in most men is simply the fear of suffering injustice.]
¶ Maxims, # 78
Everyone complains of his memory, but no one complains of his judgement.
[Tout le monde se plaint de sa mémoire, et personne ne se plaint de son jugement.]
¶ Maxims, # 89
Old men are fond of giving advice to console themselves for being no longer in a position to give bad examples.
[Les vieillards aiment à donner de bons préceptes, pour se consoler de n'être plus en état de donner de mauvais exemples.]
¶ Maxims, # 93
Not all those who know their minds know their hearts as well.
[Tous ceux qui connaissent leur esprit ne connaissent pas leur coeur.]
¶ Maxims, #103
'Tis as easy to deceive one's self without perceiving it, as it is difficult to deceive others without being perceived.
[Il est aussi facile de se tromper soi-même sans s'en apercevoir qu'il est difficile de tromper les autres sans qu'ils s'en aperçoivent.]
¶ Maxims, #115
Men are oftener treacherous out of weakness than out of any formed design.
[L'on fait plus souvent des trahisons par faiblesse que par un dessein formé de trahir.]
¶ Maxims, #120
Tricks and treachery are merely proof of lack of skill.
[Les finesses et les trahisons ne viennent que de manque d'habileté.]
¶ Maxims, #126 (1665)
tr. Louis Kronenberger, 1959
The true way to be decieved is to think oneself more clever than others.
[Le vrai moyen d'être trompé, c'est de se croire plus fin que les autres.]
¶ Maxims, #127 (1678)
Those qualities we have do not make us so ridiculous as those which we affect.
[On n'est jamais si ridicule par les qualités que l'on a que par celles que l'on affecte d'avoir.]
¶ Maxims, #134
Flattery is counterfeit money which, but for vanity, would have no circulation.
[La flatterie est une fausse monnaie qui n'a de cours que par notre vanité.]
¶ Maxims, #158
Absence diminishes mediocre passions and increases great ones, as the wind blows out candles and fans flames.
[L'absence diminue les médiocres passions, et augmente les grandes, comme le vent éteint les bougies et allume le feu.]
¶ Maxims, #276
We often forgive those who bore us, but we cannot forgive those who find us boring.
[Nous pardonnons souvent à ceux qui nous ennuient, mais nous ne pouvons pardonner à ceux que nous ennuyons.]
¶ Maxims, #304
Why is it that we have enough memory to recall the most trivial occurrences that have happened to us, but not enough memory to remind us how often we have told them to the same person?
[Pourquoi faut-il que nous ayons assez de mémoire pour retenir jusqu'aux moindres particularités de ce qui nous est arrivé, et que nous n'en ayons pas assez pour nous souvenir combien de fois nous les avons contées à une même personne?]
¶ Maxims, #313
It is no tragedy to do ungrateful people favors, but it is unbearable to be indebted to a scoundrel.
[Ce n'est pas un grand malheur d'obliger des ingrats, mais c'en est un insupportable d'être obligé à un malhonnête homme.]
¶ Maxims, #317
We confess to little faults only to persuade ourselves that we have no great ones.
[Nous n'avouons de petits défauts que pour persuader que nous n'en avons pas de grands.]
¶ Maxims, #327 (1678)
We rarely find that people have good sense unless they agree with us.
[Nous ne trouvons guère de gens de bon sens, que ceux qui sont de notre avis.]
¶ Maxims, #347
Mediocre minds dismiss anything which reaches beyond their own understanding.
[Les esprits médiocres condamnent d'ordinaire tout ce qui passe leur portée.]
¶ Maxims, #375
Almost all our faults are more pardonable than the methods we resort to hide them.
[On n'a guère de défauts qui ne soient plus pardonnables que les moyens dont on se sert pour les cacher.]
¶ Maxims, #411 (1665)
We try to make virtues of those faults that we do not wish to correct.
[Nous essayons de nous faire honneur des défauts que nous ne voulons pas corriger.]
¶ Maxims, #442
Our enemies come nearer the truth in the opinions they form of us than we do in our opinion of ourselves.
[Nos ennemis approchent plus de la vérité dans les jugements qu'ils font de nous que nous n'en approchons nous-mêmes.]
¶ Maxims, #458
Quarrels would not last long if the fault were only on one side.
[Les querelles ne dureraient pas longtemps, si le tort n'était que d'un côté.]
¶ Maxims, #496
There is nothing more horrible than the murder of a beautiful theory by a brutal gang of facts.
¶ Reflections; or, Sentences and Moral Maxims (1678)
If we had no faults of our own, we would not take so much pleasure in noticing those of others.
¶ Reflections; or, Sentences and Moral Maxims (1678)
Nous avons tous assez de force pour supporter les maux d’autrui,
[We all have enough strength to endure the misfortunes of others.]
¶ Réflexions ou Sentences et Maximes Morales (1655)
trans. Edward M. Stack (1956).
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