Francois VI Duc de La Rochefoucauld
Francois VI Duc de La Rochefoucauld
becomes doubt entirely madness pass soon stops
Live on doubts; it becomes madness or stops entirely as soon as we pass from doubt to certainty.
eloquent man natural passions persuasive rules simplest
The passions are the only advocates which always persuade. They are a natural art, the rules of which are infallible; and the simplest man with passion will be more persuasive than the most eloquent without.
passion resist weakness
If we resist our passions, it is more through their weakness than from our strength.
convinces orators passions speakers-and-speaking
Passions are the only orators to always convinces us.
absence blows candles great increases mediocre passions wind
Absence weakens mediocre passions and increases great ones, as the wind blows out candles and kindles fires.
absence candles diminishes fans great increases passions wind
Absence diminishes little passions and increases great ones, as wind extinguishes candles and fans a fire.
french-writer frequently vices virtues
Our virtues are most frequently but vices in disguise.
admire love whom
We love those who admire us, but not those whom we admire.
admire french-writer love
We always love those that admire us, but we do not always love those we admire.
detail good happened last memory recall
Why is our memory good enough to recall to the last detail things that have happened to us, yet not good enough to recall how often we have told them to the same person.
cute-love everybody few love talks true
True love is like ghosts, which everybody talks about and few have seen.
evil good order
We often do good in order that we may do evil with impunity.
actions ashamed behind finest motives understood
We should often be ashamed of our finest actions if the world understood all the motives behind them.
affect qualities quality ridiculous
We are never so ridiculous by the qualities we have, as by those we affect to have.