Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims — François de La Rochefoucauld

Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims

François de La Rochefoucauld · רישיון: Public domain · מקור

• LXXI.--The power which women whom we love have over us is greater than that which we have over ourselves. (To The Same, Ms., Fol. 211, Max. 259) ¶784
• LXXII.--That which makes us believe so easily that others have defects is that we all so easily believe what we wish. (To The Same, Ms., Fol. 223, Max. 397.) ¶785
• LXXIII.--I am perfectly aware that good sense and fine wit are tedious to every age, but tastes are not always the same, and what is good at one time will not seem so at another. This makes me think that few persons know how to be old. (To The Same, Fol. 202, Max. 423.) ¶786
• LXXIV.--God has permitted, to punish man for his original sin, that he should be so fond of his self-love, that he should be tormented by it in all the actions of his life. (Ms., Fol. 310, Max. 494.) ¶787
• LXXV.--And so far it seems to me the philosophy of a lacquey can go; I believe that all gaity in that state of life is very doubtful indeed. (To Madame De Sable, Fol. 161, Max. 504.) ¶788
• LXXVI.--Many persons wish to be devout; but no one wishes to be humble. ¶792
• LXXVII.--The labour of the body frees us from the pains of the mind, and thus makes the poor happy. ¶793
• LXXVIII.--True penitential sorrows (mortifications) are those which are not known, vanity renders the others easy enough. ¶794
• LXXIX.--Humility is the altar upon which God wishes that we should offer him his sacrifices. ¶795
• LXXX.--Few things are needed to make a wise man happy; nothing can make a fool content; that is why most men are miserable. ¶796
• LXXXI.--We trouble ourselves less to become happy, than to make others believe we are so. ¶797
• LXXXII.--It is more easy to extinguish the first desire than to satisfy those which follow. ¶798
• LXXXIII.--Wisdom is to the soul what health is to the body. ¶799
• LXXXIV.--The great ones of the earth can neither command health of body nor repose of mind, and they buy always at too dear a price the good they can acquire. ¶800
• LXXXV.--Before strongly desiring anything we should examine what happiness he has who possesses it. ¶801
• LXXXVI.--A true friend is the greatest of all goods, and that of which we think least of acquiring. ¶802
• LXXXVII.--Lovers do not wish to see the faults of their mistresses until their enchantment is at an end. ¶803
• LXXXVIII.--Prudence and love are not made for each other; in the ratio that love increases, prudence diminishes. ¶804
• LXXXIX.--It is sometimes pleasing to a husband to have a jealous wife; he hears her always speaking of the beloved object. ¶805
• XC.--How much is a woman to be pitied who is at the same time possessed of virtue and love! ¶806
• XCI.--The wise man finds it better not to enter the encounter than to conquer. ¶807
• XCII.--It is more necessary to study men than books. ¶809
• XCIII.--Good and evil ordinarily come to those who have most of one or the other. ¶811
• XCIV.--The accent and character of one's native country dwells in the mind and heart as on the tongue. (Repitition Of Maxim 342.) ¶812
• XCV.--The greater part of men have qualities which, like those of plants, are discovered by chance. (Repitition Of Maxim 344.) ¶813
• XCVI.--A good woman is a hidden treasure; he who discovers her will do well not to boast about it. (See Maxim 368.) ¶814
• XCVII.--Most women do not weep for the loss of a lover to show that they have been loved so much as to show that they are worth being loved. (See Maxim 362.) ¶815
• XCVIII.--There are many virtuous women who are weary of the part they have played. (See Maxim 367.) ¶816
• XCIX.--If we think we love for love's sake we are much mistaken. (See Maxim 374.) ¶817
• C.--The restraint we lay upon ourselves to be constant, is not much better than an inconstancy. (See Maxim 369, 381.) ¶818
• CI.--There are those who avoid our jealousy, of whom we ought to be jealous. (See Maxim 359.) ¶819
• CII.--Jealousy is always born with love, but does not always die with it. (See Maxim 361.) ¶820
• CIII.--When we love too much it is difficult to discover when we have ceased to be beloved. ¶821
• CIV.--We know very well that we should not talk about our wives, but we do not remember that it is not so well to speak of ourselves. (See Maxim 364.) ¶822
• CV.--Chance makes us known to others and to ourselves. (See Maxim 345.) ¶823
• CVI.--We find very few people of good sense, except those who are of our own opinion. (See Maxim 347.) ¶824
• CVII.--We commonly praise the good hearts of those who admire us. (See Maxim 356.) ¶825
• CVIII.--Man only blames himself in order that he may be praised. ¶826
• CIX.--Little minds are wounded by the smallest things. (See Maxim 357.) ¶827
• CX.--There are certain faults which placed in a good light please more than perfection itself. (See Maxim 354.) ¶828

חזרההלאה →ספרי אמרות