Francois de La Rochefoucauld

The word virtue is as useful to self-interest as the vices. ”

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

A man is sometimes as different from himself as he is from others. ”

Flattery is a kind of bad money, to which our vanity gives us currency. ”

One can find women who have never had one love affair, but it is rare indeed to find any who have had only one. ”

Why can we remember the tiniest detail that has happened to us, and not remember how many times we have told it to the same person. ”

That good disposition which boasts of being most tender is often stifled by the least urging of self-interest. ”

How is it that we remember the least triviality that happens to us, and yet not remember how often we have recounted it to the same person? ”

The force we use on ourselves, to prevent ourselves from loving, is often more cruel than the severest treatment at the hands of one loved. ”

When our vices leave us, we like to imagine it is we who are leaving them. ”