Quotes from Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Nature creates ability; luck provides it with opportunity.

Nothing is rarer than true good nature; they who are reputed to have it are generally only pliant or weak.

Those whom the world has delighted to honor have oftener been influenced in their doings by ambition and vanity than by patriotism.

We are never so happy, nor so unhappy, as we suppose ourselves to be.

As the great ones of this world are unable to bestow health of body or peace of mind, we always pay too high a price for any good they can do.

We are more often treacherous through weakness than through calculation.

Philosophy triumphs easily over past evils and future evils, but present evils triumph over it.

We have more ability than will power, and it is often an excuse to ourselves that we imagine that things are impossible.

If it were not for poetry, few men would ever fall in love.

It is often merely for an excuse that we say things are impossible.

There are more defects in temperament than in the mind.

To establish oneself in the world one has to do all one can to appear established.

Whatever ignominy or disgrace we have incurred, it is almost always in our power to reestablish our reputation.

Humility is the altar upon which God wishes that we should offer Him His sacrifices.

The moderation of people in prosperity is the effect of a smooth and composed temper, owing to the calm of their good fortune.

Why is it that our memory is good enough to retain the least triviality that happens to us, and yet not good enough to recollect how often we have told it to the same person?

We rarely think people have good sense unless they agree with us.

Good taste comes more from the judgment than from the mind.

Truth does less good in the world than its appearances do harm.

Gratitude is like the good faith of traders: it maintains commerce, and we often pay, not because it is just to discharge our debts, but that we may more readily find people to trust us.

Sometimes there is equal or more ability in knowing how to use good advice than there is in giving it.

It is sometimes a point of as much cleverness to know to make good use of advice from others as to be able give good advice to oneself.

Good and bad fortune are found severally to visit those who have the most of the one or the other.

It requires greater virtues to support good fortune than bad.