François de La Rochefoucauld

Who was François de La Rochefoucauld?

François VI, Duc de La Rochefoucauld, Prince de Marcillac was a noted French author of maxims and memoirs. His is a clear-eyed, worldly view of human conduct that indulges in neither condemnation nor sentimentality. Born in Paris on the Rue des Petits Champs, at a time when the royal court was oscillating between aiding the nobility and threatening it, he was considered an exemplar of the accomplished 17th-century nobleman. Until 1650, he bore the title of Prince de Marcillac.

Famous Quotes:

• It is with true love as it is with ghosts; everyone talks about it, but few have seen it.
• Those who occupy their minds with small matters, generally become incapable of greatness.
• Only the great can afford to have great defects.
• If it were not for the company of fools, a witty man would often be greatly at a loss.
• The happiness or unhappiness of men depends as much on their humors as on fortune.
• When our hatred is violent, it sinks us even beneath those we hate.
• How can we accept another to keep our secret if we have been unable to keep it ourselves.
• However rare true love may be, it is less so than true friendship.
• We promise according to our hopes and perform according to our fears.
• The accent of one's birthplace remains in the mind and in the heart as in one's speech.