Francois VI Duc de La Rochefoucauld
Francois VI Duc de La Rochefoucauld
conceal cute-love disguise exists love
There is no disguise that can for long conceal love where it exists or simulate it where it does not.
appearance desire natural prevents seem
Nothing so much prevents our being natural as the desire to seem so.
faithful love remain struggle undergo
The struggle we undergo to remain faithful to one we love is little better than infidelity.
failure means people rather
It is for want of application, rather than of means that people fail,
convinces orators passions speakers-and-speaking
Passions are the only orators to always convinces us.
cleverness conceal great
It is great cleverness to know how to conceal our cleverness.
cleverness conceal height
The height of cleverness is being able to conceal it.
advice deceived mistrust shameful
It is more shameful to mistrust one's friends than to be deceived by them
complains judgment-and-judges nobody
Everyone complains of the badness of his memory, but nobody of his judgment.
hatred judge love nearly resembles
If we are to judge of love by the consequences, it more nearly resembles hatred than friendship.
homage hypocrisy pays vice
Hypocrisy is the homage that vice pays to virtue.
absence candles diminishes fans great increases passions wind
Absence diminishes little passions and increases great ones, as wind extinguishes candles and fans a fire.
flatterer french-writer greatest
Self-love is the greatest flatterer in the world.
french-writer frequently vices virtues
Our virtues are most frequently but vices in disguise.