Quotes from Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Heat of blood makes young people change their inclinations often, and habit makes old ones keep to theirs a great while.

It is more often from pride than from ignorance that we are so obstinately opposed to current opinions; we find the first places taken, and we do not want to be the last.

Plenty of people want to be pious, but no one yearns to be humble.

Though confidence is very fine, and makes the future sunny; I want no confidence for mine, I'd rather have the money

It's the height of folly to want to be the only wise one.

There are very few things impossible in themselves; and we do not want means to conquer difficulties so much as application and resolution in the use of means.

We should wish for few things with eagerness, if we perfectly knew the nature of that which was the object of our desire.

However evil men may be they dare not be openly hostile to virtue, and so when they want to attack it they pretend to find it spurious , or impute crimes to it.

People always complain about their memories, never about their minds.

Boredom ... causes us to neglect more duties than does interest.

We often forgive those who bore us, but can't forgive those whom we bore.

If we resist our passions, it is more from their weakness than from our strength.

The passions are the only orators which always persuade.

Reason alone is insufficient to make us enthusiastic in any matter.

There are no accidents so unlucky from which clever people are not able to reap some advantage, and none so lucky that the foolish are not able to turn them to their own disadvantage.

What causes us to like new acquaintances is not so much weariness of our old ones, or the pleasure of change, as disgust at not being sufficiently admired by those who know us too well, and the hope of being admired more by those who do not know so much about us.

Jealousy is bred in doubts. When those doubts change into certainties, then the passion either ceases or turns absolute madness.

Marriage is the only war in which you sleep with the enemy.

Reconciliation with our enemies is simply a desire to better our condition, a weariness of war, or the fear of some unlucky thing from occurring.

Jealousy lives upon doubts. It becomes madness or ceases entirely as soon as we pass from doubt to certainty.

We should often blush for our very best actions, if the world did but see all the motives upon which they were done.

We do not wish ardently for what we desire only through reason.

The virtues and the vices are all put in motion by interest.

Interest speaks all sorts of tongues, and plays all sorts of parts, even that of disinterestedness.