Stacey's blog: "Rambles"

A refusal of praise is a desire to be praised twice. Francois de La Rochefoucauld A true friend is the greatest of all blessings, and that which we take the least care of all to acquire. Francois de La Rochefoucauld A wise man thinks it more advantageous not to join the battle than to win. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Absence diminishes mediocre passions and increases great ones, as the wind extinguishes candles and fans fires. Francois de La Rochefoucauld All the passions make us commit faults; love makes us commit the most ridiculous ones. Francois de La Rochefoucauld As it is the characteristic of great wits to say much in few words, so small wits seem to have the gift of speaking much and saying nothing. Francois de La Rochefoucauld As one grows older, one becomes wiser and more foolish. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Before we set our hearts too much upon anything, let us examine how happy they are, who already possess it. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Conceit causes more conversation than wit. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Confidence contributes more to conversation than wit. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Decency is the least of all laws, but yet it is the law which is most strictly observed. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Everyone complains of his memory, and nobody complains of his judgment. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Few things are impracticable in themselves; and it is for want of application, rather than of means, that men fail to succeed. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Flattery is a kind of bad money, to which our vanity gives us currency. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Funeral pomp is more for the vanity of the living than for the honor of the dead. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Good advice is something a man gives when he is too old to set a bad example. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Gracefulness is to the body what understanding is to the mind. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Gratitude is merely the secret hope of further favors. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Great souls are not those who have fewer passions and more virtues than others, but only those who have greater designs. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Hope, deceiving as it is, serves at least to lead us to the end of our lives by an agreeable route. Francois de La Rochefoucauld How can we expect another to keep our secret if we have been unable to keep it ourselves? Francois de La Rochefoucauld However rare true love may be, it is less so than true friendship. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Hypocrisy is the homage vice pays to virtue. Francois de La Rochefoucauld I have always been an admirer. I regard the gift of admiration as indispensable if one is to amount to something; I don't know where I would be without it. Francois de La Rochefoucauld If it were not for the company of fools, a witty man would often be greatly at a loss. Francois de La Rochefoucauld If we are to judge of love by its consequences, it more nearly resembles hatred than friendship. Francois de La Rochefoucauld If we had no faults of our own, we should not take so much pleasure in noticing those in others. Francois de La Rochefoucauld If we resist our passions, it is more due to their weakness than our strength. Francois de La Rochefoucauld In all professions each affects a look and an exterior to appear what he wishes the world to believe that he is. Thus we may say that the whole world is made up of appearances. Francois de La Rochefoucauld In love we often doubt what we most believe. Francois de La Rochefoucauld In most of mankind gratitude is merely a secret hope of further favors. Francois de La Rochefoucauld In the human heart new passions are forever being born; the overthrow of one almost always means the rise of another. Francois de La Rochefoucauld In the misfortunes of our best friends we always find something not altogether displeasing to us. Francois de La Rochefoucauld It is easier to appear worthy of a position one does not hold, than of the office which one fills. Francois de La Rochefoucauld It is easier to be wise for others than for ourselves. Francois de La Rochefoucauld It is easier to know men in general, than men in particular. Francois de La Rochefoucauld It is great folly to wish to be wise all alone. Francois de La Rochefoucauld It is not enough to have great qualities; We should also have the management of them. Francois de La Rochefoucauld It is with true love as it is with ghosts; everyone talks about it, but few have seen it. Francois de La Rochefoucauld It takes nearly as much ability to know how to profit by good advice as to know how to act for one's self. Francois de La Rochefoucauld It's easier to be wise for others than for ourselves. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Jealously is always born with love but it does not die with it. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Jealousy contains more of self-love than of love. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Jealousy lives upon doubts. It becomes madness or ceases entirely as soon as we pass from doubt to certainty. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Jealousy springs more from love of self than from love of another. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Live on doubts; it becomes madness or stops entirely as soon as we pass from doubt to certainty. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Love often leads on to ambition, but seldom does one return from ambition to love. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Mediocre minds usually dismiss anything which reaches beyond their own understanding. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Men give away nothing so liberally as their advice. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Most of our faults are more pardonable than the means we use to conceal them. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Neither the sun nor death can be looked at with a steady eye. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Never give anyone the advice to buy or sell shares, because the most benevolent price of advice can turn out badly. Francois de La Rochefoucauld No man is clever enough to know all the evil he does. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Not all those who know their minds know their hearts as well. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Nothing is impossible; there are ways that lead to everything, and if we had sufficient will we should always have sufficient means. It is often merely for an excuse that we say things are impossible. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Nothing is so contagious as example; and we never do any great good or evil which does not produce its like. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Nothing prevents one from appearing natural as the desire to appear natural. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Old age is a tyrant, who forbids, under pain of death, the pleasures of youth. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Old men are fond of giving good advice to console themselves for their inability to give bad examples. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Old people love to give good advice; it compensates them for their inability to set a bad example. Francois de La Rochefoucauld One forgives to the degree that one loves. Francois de La Rochefoucauld One is never fortunate or as unfortunate as one imagines. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Our actions are like the terminations of verses, which we rhyme as we please. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Our virtues are most frequently but vices in disguise. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Passion makes idiots of the cleverest men, and makes the biggest idiots clever. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Passions are the only orators to always convinces us. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Perfect behavior is born of complete indifference. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Perfect Valor is to do, without a witness, all that we could do before the whole world. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Perfect valour consists in doing without witnesses that which we would be capable of doing before everyone. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Perhaps being old is having lighted rooms inside your head, and people in them, acting. People you know, yet can't quite name. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Preserving health by too severe a rule is a worrisome malady. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Pride does not wish to owe and vanity does not wish to pay. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Quarrels would not last long if the fault was only on one side. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Repentance is not so much remorse for what we have done as the fear of the consequences. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Silence is the safest course for any man to adopt who distrust himself. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Taste may change, but inclination never. Francois de La Rochefoucauld The accent of one's birthplace remains in the mind and in the heart as in one's speech. Francois de La Rochefoucauld The desire to seem clever often keeps us from being so. Francois de La Rochefoucauld The happiness and misery of men depend no less on temper than fortune. Francois de La Rochefoucauld The heart is forever making the head its fool. Francois de La Rochefoucauld The intellect is always fooled by the heart. Francois de La Rochefoucauld The mind is always the patsy of the heart. Francois de La Rochefoucauld The one thing people are the most liberal with, is their advice. Francois de La Rochefoucauld The only good imitations are those that poke fun at bad originals. Francois de La Rochefoucauld The only thing that should surprise us is that there are still some things that can surprise us. Francois de La Rochefoucauld The passions are the only orators which always persuade. Francois de La Rochefoucauld The reason that lovers never weary each other is because they are always talking about themselves. Francois de La Rochefoucauld The reason why so few people are agreeable in conversation is that each is thinking more about what he intends to say than others are saying. Francois de La Rochefoucauld The sure mark of one born with noble qualities is being born without envy. Francois de La Rochefoucauld The sure way to be cheated is to think one's self more cunning than others. Francois de La Rochefoucauld The virtues and vices are all put in motion by interest. Francois de La Rochefoucauld The word virtue is as useful to self-interest as the vices. Francois de La Rochefoucauld There are bad people who would be less dangerous if they were quite devoid of goodness. Francois de La Rochefoucauld There are crimes which become innocent and even glorious through their splendor, number and excess. Francois de La Rochefoucauld There are heroes in evil as well as in good. Francois de La Rochefoucauld There are various sorts of curiosity; one is from interest, which makes us desire to know that which may be useful to us; and the other, from pride which comes from the wish to know what others are ignorant of. Francois de La Rochefoucauld There are very few people who are not ashamed of having been in love when they no longer love each other. Francois de La Rochefoucauld There is a kind of elevation which does not depend on fortune; it is a certain air which distinguishes us, and seems to destine us for great things; it is a price which we imperceptibly set upon ourselves. Francois de La Rochefoucauld There is no disguise that can for long conceal love where it exists or simulate it where it does not. Francois de La Rochefoucauld There is no disguise which can hide love for long where it exists, or simulate it where it does not. Francois de La Rochefoucauld There is only one kind of love, but there are a thousand imitations. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Those who are incapable of committing great crimes do not readily suspect them in others. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Those who occupy their minds with small matters, generally become incapable of greatness. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Timidity is a fault for which it is dangerous to reprove persons whom we wish to correct of it. Francois de La Rochefoucauld To achieve greatness one should live as if they will never die. Francois de La Rochefoucauld To know how to hide one's ability is great skill. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Too great haste to repay an obligation is a kind of ingratitude. Francois de La Rochefoucauld True love is like ghosts, which everyone talks about and few have seen. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Usually we praise only to be praised. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Virtue would go far if vanity did not keep it company. Francois de La Rochefoucauld We all have enough strength to endure the misfortunes of others. Francois de La Rochefoucauld We always get bored with those whom we bore. Francois de La Rochefoucauld We always love those who admire us, but we do not always love those whom we admire. Francois de La Rochefoucauld We are more interested in making others believe we are happy than in trying to be happy ourselves. Francois de La Rochefoucauld We are more often treacherous through weakness than through calculation. Francois de La Rochefoucauld We are nearer loving those who hate us than those who love us more than we wish. Francois de La Rochefoucauld We are so accustomed to disguise ourselves to others that in the end we become disguised to ourselves. Francois de La Rochefoucauld We are strong enough to bear the misfortunes of others. Francois de La Rochefoucauld We confess our little faults to persuade people that we have no large ones. Francois de La Rochefoucauld We do not despise all those who have vices, but we do despise those that have no virtue. Francois de La Rochefoucauld We get so much in the habit of wearing disguises before others that we finally appear disguised before ourselves. Francois de La Rochefoucauld We give advice, but we cannot give the wisdom to profit by it. Francois de La Rochefoucauld We often forgive those who bore us, but we cannot forgive those whom we bore. Francois de La Rochefoucauld We only acknowledge small faults in order to make it appear that we are free from great ones. Francois de La Rochefoucauld We only confess our little faults to persuade people that we have no big ones. Francois de La Rochefoucauld We promise according to our hopes and perform according to our fears. Francois de La Rochefoucauld We seldom find any person of good sense, except those who share our opinions. Francois de La Rochefoucauld We seldom find people ungrateful so long as it is thought we can serve them. Francois de La Rochefoucauld We should often feel ashamed of our best actions if the world could see all the motives which produced them. Francois de La Rochefoucauld We would frequently be ashamed of our good deeds if people saw all of the motives that produced them. Francois de La Rochefoucauld We would rather speak ill of ourselves than not talk about ourselves at all. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Weakness of character is the only defect which cannot be amended. Francois de La Rochefoucauld What is called generosity is usually only the vanity of giving; we enjoy the vanity more than the thing given. Francois de La Rochefoucauld What makes vanity so insufferable to us, is that it hurts our own. Francois de La Rochefoucauld What men have called friendship is only a social arrangement, a mutual adjustment of interests, an interchange of services given and received; it is, in sum, simply a business from which those involved propose to derive a steady profit for their own self-love. Francois de La Rochefoucauld What seems to be generosity is often no more than disguised ambition, which overlooks a small interest in order to secure a great one. Francois de La Rochefoucauld When our hatred is violent, it sinks us even beneath those we hate. Francois de La Rochefoucauld When we are in love we often doubt that which we most believe. Francois de La Rochefoucauld When we disclaim praise, it is only showing our desire to be praised a second time. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Why can we remember the tiniest detail that has happened to us, and not remember how many times we have told it to the same person. Francois de La Rochefoucauld 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? Francois de La Rochefoucauld Wit sometimes enables us to act rudely with impunity. Francois de La Rochefoucauld