Top 500 François de La Rochefoucauld Quotes (2026 Update)
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251. “Men are not only prone to forget benefits; they even hate those who have obliged them, and cease to hate those who have injured them. The necessity of revenging an injury, or of recompensing a benefit seems a slavery to which they are unwilling to submit.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

252. “The intention of cheating no one lays us open to being cheated ourselves.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

253. “In the presence of some people we inevitably depart From ourselves: we are inaccurate, we say things we do not feel, And talk nonsense. When we get home we are conscious that we Have made fools of ourselves. Never go near these people.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

254. “We often pay our debts not because it is only fair that we should, but to make future loans easier.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

255. “Moderation is an ostentatious proof of our strength of character...”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

256. “Decency is the least of all laws, but yet it is the law which is most strictly observed.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

257. “The only thing that should surprise us is that there are still some things that can surprise us.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

258. “Flattery is a base coin which is current only through our vanity.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

259. “We often do shallow good in order to accomplish evil with impunity.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

260. “The man that thinks he loves his mistress for her own sake is mightily mistaken.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

261. “Funeral pomp is more for the vanity of the living than for the honor of the dead.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

262. “Conceit causes more conversation than wit.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

263. “Eloquence resides as much in the tone of voice, in the eyes, and in the expression of the face, as in the choice of words.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

264. “The clemency of Princes is often but policy to win the affections of the people.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

265. “True bravery means doing alone that which one could do if all the world were by.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

266. “People always complain about their memories, never about their minds.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

267. “Our enemies come nearer the truth in the opinions they form of us than we do in our opinion of ourselves.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

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

— François de La Rochefoucauld

269. “As we grow older, we increase in folly – and in wisdom.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

270. “Virtues lose themselves in self-interest, as rivers in the sea.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

271. “Customary use of artifice is the sign of a small mind, and it almost always happens that he who uses it to cover one spot uncovers himself in another.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

272. “We seldom find people ungrateful so long as it is thought we can serve them.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

273. “We are nearer loving those who hate us than those who love us more than we wish.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

274. “Philosophy easily triumphs over past and future ills; but present ills triumph over philosophy.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

275. “Preserving health by too severe a rule is a worrisome malady.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

276. “It is with certain good qualities as with the senses; those who have them not can neither appreciate nor comprehend them in others.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

277. “All women are flirts, but some are restrained by shyness, and others by sense.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

278. “Intrepidity is an extraordinary strength of soul, which raises it above the troubles, disorders and emotions which the sight of great perils can arouse in it; by this strength heroes maintain a calm aspect and preserve their reason and liberty in the most surprising and terrible accidents.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

279. “The reason we bitterly hate those who deceive us is because they think they are cleverer than we are.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

280. “The generality of friends puts us out of conceit with friendship; just as the generality of religious people puts us out of conceit with religion.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

281. “Envy is destroyed by true friendship, as coquetry by true love.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

282. “Happiness is in the taste, and not in the things.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

283. “There are no circumstances, however unfortunate, that clever people do not extract some advantage from.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

284. “When a man must force himself to be faithful in his love, this is hardly better than unfaithfulness.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

285. “Humility is often a false front we employ to gain power over others.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

286. “There are some bad qualities which make great talents.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

287. “It is sometimes necessary to play the fool to avoid being deceived by cunning men.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

288. “If it were not for the company of fools, a witty man would often be greatly at a loss.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

289. “Vanity, shame, and above all disposition, often make men brave and women chaste.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

290. “We do not lack strength so much as the will to use it; and very often our imagining that things are impossible is nothing but an excuse of our own contriving, to reconcile ourselves to our own idleness.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

291. “The only good copies are those which make us see the absurdity of bad originals.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

292. “We are never so easily deceived as when we imagine we are deceiving others.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

293. “In order to succeed in the world people do their upmost to appear successful.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

294. “Silence is the safest course for any man to adopt who distrust himself.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

295. “We would rather speak ill of ourselves than not talk about ourselves at all.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

296. “People are more slanderous from vanity than from malice.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

297. “Sometimes there are accidents in our lives the skillful extrication from which demands a little folly.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

298. “It is impossible to love a second time what we have really ceased to love.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

299. “There is many a virtuous woman weary of her trade.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld

300. “What makes false reckoning, as regards gratitude, is that the pride of the giver and the receiver cannot agree as to the value of the benefit.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld