What is called generosity is usually only the vanity of giving; we enjoy the vanity more than the thing given.

Quote by Francois De La Rochefoucauld

Topics: Francois De La Rochefoucauld Quotes

Everyone complains of his memory, and nobody complains of his judgment.

Everyone complains of his memory, and nobody complains of his judgment.

Whatever good things people say of us, they tell us nothing new.

Whatever good things people say of us, they tell us nothing new.

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

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

If we had no faults of our own, we should not take so much pleasure...

If we had no faults of our own, we should not take so much pleasure...

People's personalities, like buildings, have various facades, some pleasant to view, some not.

People's personalities, like buildings, have various facades, some pleasant to view, some not.

How can we expect another to keep our secret if we have been unable to...

How can we expect another to keep our secret if we have been unable to...

We may seem great in an employment below our worth, but we very often look...

We may seem great in an employment below our worth, but we very often look...

It is often laziness and timidity that keep us within our duty while virtue gets...

It is often laziness and timidity that keep us within our duty while virtue gets...

We are easily comforted for the misfortunes of our friends, when those misfortunes give us...

We are easily comforted for the misfortunes of our friends, when those misfortunes give us...

We are more often treacherous through weakness than through calculation.

We are more often treacherous through weakness than through calculation.

A great many men's gratitude is nothing but a secret desire to hook in more...

A great many men's gratitude is nothing but a secret desire to hook in more...

As great minds have the faculty of saying a great deal in a few words,...

As great minds have the faculty of saying a great deal in a few words,...

A man's worth has its season, like fruit.

A man's worth has its season, like fruit.

The mind is always the patsy of the heart.

The mind is always the patsy of the heart.

There is only one kind of love, but there are a thousand imitations.

There is only one kind of love, but there are a thousand imitations.

There is many a virtuous woman weary of her trade.

There is many a virtuous woman weary of her trade.

Fortune converts everything to the advantage of her favorites.

Fortune converts everything to the advantage of her favorites.

We say little, when vanity does not make us speak.

We say little, when vanity does not make us speak.

We are sometimes as different from ourselves as we are from others.

We are sometimes as different from ourselves as we are from others.

The sure way to be cheated is to think one's self more cunning than others.

The sure way to be cheated is to think one's self more cunning than others.