La Rochefoucauld was one of the best writers of maxims in France. The book contains cynicism, skepticism, pessimism, and cannot help but make you wiser. Below are my highlights.
Men are not only prone to forget benefits and injuries ; they even hate those who have obliged them , and cease to hate those who have injured them . The necessity of revenging an injury or of recompensing a benefit seems a slavery to which they are unwilling to submit .
The moderation of those who are happy arises from the calm which good fortune bestows upon their temper .
The constancy of the wise is only the talent of concealing the agitation of their hearts .
Philosophy triumphs easily over past evils and future evils ; but present evils triumph over it .
Few people know death , we only endure it , usually from determination , and even from stupidity and custom ; and most men only die because they know not how to prevent dying.
People are often vain of their passions , even of the worst , but envy is a passion so timid and shame faced that no one ever dare avow her.
Jealousy is in a manner just and reasonable, as it tends to preserve a good , which belongs, or which we believe belongs to us, on the other hand envy is a fury, which cannot endure the happiness of others. It would seem that nature, which has so wisely ordered the organs of our body for our happiness, has also given us pride to spare us the mortification.
We promise according to our hopes ; we perform according to our fears.
Interest blinds some and makes some see.
Those who apply themselves too closely to little things often become incapable of great things .
We have not enough strength to follow all our reason .
Happiness is in the taste , and not in the things themselves ; we are happy from possessing what we like, not from possessing what others like .
We are never so happy or so unhappy as we suppose .
Those who think they have merit persuade themselves that they are honoured by being unhappy , in order to persuade others and themselves that they are worthy to be the butt of fortune .
Although men flatter themselves with their great actions, they are not so often the result of a great design as of chance .
A clever man ought to so regulate his interests that each will fall in due order. Our greediness so often troubles us, making us run after so many things at the same time, that while we too eagerly look after the least we miss the greatest .
There is no disguise, which can long hide love where it exists, nor feign it where it does not .
Silence is the best resolve for him who distrusts himself .
It is more disgraceful to distrust than to be deceived by our friends .
We often persuade ourselves to love people who are more powerful than we are , yet interest alone produces our friendship; we do not give our hearts away for the good we wish to do, but for that we expect to receive.
Nothing is given so profusely as advice.
There may be good but there are no pleasant marriages.
It is as easy unwittingly to deceive oneself as to deceive others.
The intention of never deceiving often exposes us to deception.
We become so accustomed to disguise ourselves to others that at last we are disguised to ourselves.
If we conquer our passions it is more from their weakness than from our strength.
It is sometimes necessary to play the fool to avoid being deceived by cunning men.
It is far easier to be wise for others than to be so for oneself.
1As it is the mark of great minds to say many things in a few words , so it is that of little minds to use many words to say nothing.
Ability wins us the esteem of the true men , luck that of the people.
The world oftener rewards the appearance of merit than merit itself.
However deceitful hope may be , yet she carries us on pleasantly to the end of life.
Idleness and fear keeps us in the path of duty , but our virtue often gets the praise.
The desire to appear clever often prevents our being so.
Who lives without folly is not so wise as he thinks.
Most people judge men only by success or by fortune.
Lucky people are bad hands at correcting their faults; they always believe that they are right when fortune backs up their vice or folly.
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