François de La Rochefoucauld may refer to:
The duration of our passions is no more dependent on ourselves than the duration of our lives.
Men have written in the most convincing manner to prove that death is no evil, and this opinion has been confirmed on a thousand celebrated occasions by the weakest of men as well as by heroes. Even so I doubt whether any sensible person has ever believed it, and the trouble men take to convince others as well as themselves that they do shows clearly that it is no easy undertaking.
We exaggerate the glory of some men in order to detract from that of others.
We only acknowledge small faults in order to make it appear that we are free from great ones.
Nature has concealed at the bottom of our minds talents and abilities of which we are not aware.
There is nothing men are so generous of as advice.
The man that thinks he loves his mistress for her own sake is mightily mistaken.
Weakness is the only fault that is incorrigible.
Innocence does not find near so much protection as guilt.
As long as we love, we can forgive.
People's personalities, like buildings, have various facades, some pleasant to view, some not.
There may be talent without position, but there is no position without some kind of talent.
We should not be upset that others hide the truth from us, when we hide it so often from ourselves.
Nature creates ability; luck provides it with opportunity.
The best way to rise in society is to use all possible means of persuading people that one has already risen in society.
To be a great man it is necessary to turn to account all opportunities.
Women can less easily surmount their coquetry than their passions.
Novelty is to love like bloom to fruit; it gives a luster which is easily effaced, but never returns.
We often see malefactors, when they are led to execution, put on resolution and a contempt of death which, in truth, is nothing else but fearing to look it in the face--so that this pretended bravery may very truly be said to do the same good office to their mind that the blindfold does to their eyes.
A true friend is the most precious of all possessions and the one we take the least thought about acquiring.