François de La Rochefoucauld

The art of using moderate abilities to advantage often brings greater results than actual brilliance.

Ability wins us the esteem of the true men; luck that of the people.

The man whom no one pleases is much more unhappy than the man who pleases no one.

The most dangerous folly of old people who were once attractive is to forget that they are not so any longer.

The sort of liveliness which increases with age is not far distant from madness.

There are very few women in society whose virtue outlasts their beauty.

To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art.

The pleasure of love is in loving.

The reason why so few people are agreeable in conversation is that each is thinking more about what he intends to say than about what others are saying, and we never listen when we are eager to speak.

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

Few are agreeable in conversation, because each thinks of what he intends to say than of what others are saying, and listens no more when he himself has a chance to speak.

We should often be ashamed of our finest actions if the world understood our motives.

Small minds are much distressed by little things. Great minds see them all but are not upset by them.

To listen closely and reply well is the highest perfection we are able to attain in the art of conversation.

Our repentance is not so much regret for the ill we have done as fear of the ill that may happen to us in consequence.

If we had no faults of our own, we would not take so much pleasure in noticing those of others.

Jealousy feeds upon suspicion, and it turns into fury or it ends as soon as we pass from suspicion to certainty.

When we are unable to find tranquility within ourselves, it is useless to seek it elsewhere.

A true friend is the greatest of all blessings, and that which we take the least care of all to acquire.

We always like those who admire us; we do not always like those whom we admire.

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

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

There are very few people who are not ashamed of having been in love when they no longer love each other.

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?

Preserving health by too severe a rule is a worrisome malady.

We confess our little faults to persuade people that we have no large ones.

We should manage our fortunes as we do our health - enjoy it when good, be patient when it is bad, and never apply violent remedies except in an extreme necessity.

We often forgive those who bore us, but we cannot forgive those whom we bore.

There are good marriages, but no delicious ones.

Hope and fear are inseparable. There is no hope without fear, nor any fear without hope.

To know how to hide one's ability is great skill.

One can find women who have never had one love affair, but it is rare indeed to find any who have had only one.

Nothing prevents us from being natural so much as the desire to appear so.

No disguise can long conceal love where it is, nor feign it where it is not.

Before strongly desiring anything, we should look carefully into the happiness of its present owner.

Quarrels would not last long if the fault were on one side only.