One is never fortunate or as unfortunate as one imagines.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Only the contemptible fear contempt.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Our actions seem to have their lucky and unlucky stars, to which a great part of that blame and that commendation is due which is given to the actions themselves.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Our aversion to lying is commonly a secret ambition to make what we say considerable, and have every word received with a religious respect.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Our concern for the loss of our friends is not always from a sense of their worth, but rather of our own need of them and that we have lost some who had a good opinion of us.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Our virtues are often, in reality, no better than vices disguised.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Passion makes idiots of the cleverest men, and makes the biggest idiots clever.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld

People always complain about their memories, never about their minds.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld

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.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld

People's personalities, like buildings, have various facades, some pleasant to view, some not.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Perfect behavior is born of complete indifference.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Perfect courage is to do without witnesses what one would be capable of doing with the world looking on.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Perfect Valor is to do, without a witness, all that we could do before the whole world.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Perfect valour consists in doing without witnesses that which we would be capable of doing before everyone.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Perhaps being old is having lighted rooms inside your head, and people in them, acting. People you know, yet can't quite name.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Philosophy finds it an easy matter to vanquish past and future evils, but the present are commonly too hard for it.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Politeness is a desire to be treated politely, and to be esteemed polite oneself.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Pride does not wish to owe and vanity does not wish to pay.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Pride, which inspires us with so much envy, is sometimes of use toward the moderating of it too.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Quarrels would not last long if the fault was only on one side.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld