Duc François de la Rochefoucauld
@rochefoucauld.bsky.social
This account posts maxims from various sources, but chiefly by La Rochefoucauld, the master of the genre. Posts by La R unless otherwise stated. New post every 3rd day. Run by @nowheria.bsky.social
290. There are more faults in the humour than in the mind.
December 23, 2025 at 6:30 PM
290. There are more faults in the humour than in the mind.
289. Affected simplicity is a subtle imposture.
December 20, 2025 at 11:39 AM
289. Affected simplicity is a subtle imposture.
288. Some business matters and some illnesses can be aggravated by remedies, at certain times; the really clever thing is to know when it is dangerous to make use of them.
December 17, 2025 at 5:46 PM
288. Some business matters and some illnesses can be aggravated by remedies, at certain times; the really clever thing is to know when it is dangerous to make use of them.
287. It is not so much a fertile mind that makes us find various solutions to a single matter; rather, it is lack of enlightenment, which makes us pause over everything that springs to our imagination, and prevents us from immediately recognising which one is best.
December 14, 2025 at 5:35 PM
287. It is not so much a fertile mind that makes us find various solutions to a single matter; rather, it is lack of enlightenment, which makes us pause over everything that springs to our imagination, and prevents us from immediately recognising which one is best.
286. It is impossible to love again what you have really ceased to love.
December 11, 2025 at 6:15 PM
286. It is impossible to love again what you have really ceased to love.
285. Magnanimity is defined well enough by its name, yet we could say that it is pride's form of good sense, and the noblest way to win praise.
December 8, 2025 at 6:47 PM
285. Magnanimity is defined well enough by its name, yet we could say that it is pride's form of good sense, and the noblest way to win praise.
284. There are some wicked people who would be less dangerous if they had absolutely no goodness.
December 5, 2025 at 7:42 PM
284. There are some wicked people who would be less dangerous if they had absolutely no goodness.
283. Sometimes it takes as much cleverness to profit from good advice as to give ourselves good advice.
December 2, 2025 at 6:28 PM
283. Sometimes it takes as much cleverness to profit from good advice as to give ourselves good advice.
282. Some kinds of disguised falseness imitate truth so well that it would be a misjudgement not to be deceived by them.
November 29, 2025 at 10:38 AM
282. Some kinds of disguised falseness imitate truth so well that it would be a misjudgement not to be deceived by them.
281. The pride which inspires us with so much envy often helps us also to moderate it.
November 26, 2025 at 8:56 PM
281. The pride which inspires us with so much envy often helps us also to moderate it.
280. The approval we give to those just entering society often arises from secret envy of those who are already established there.
November 23, 2025 at 10:35 AM
280. The approval we give to those just entering society often arises from secret envy of those who are already established there.
279. When we overestimate our friends' affection for us, it is often less from gratitude than from a desire to have our own merit approved.
November 20, 2025 at 9:50 PM
279. When we overestimate our friends' affection for us, it is often less from gratitude than from a desire to have our own merit approved.
278. What makes us often dissatisfied with those who carry out a negotiation is that they almost always abandon their friends' interests in the interests of successful negotiation. The success becomes their own, because they have the honour of accomplishing what they had undertaken.
November 17, 2025 at 6:10 PM
278. What makes us often dissatisfied with those who carry out a negotiation is that they almost always abandon their friends' interests in the interests of successful negotiation. The success becomes their own, because they have the honour of accomplishing what they had undertaken.
277. Women often think they are in love when they are not. The business of an intrigue, the excitement produced by a love affair, a natural predilection for the pleasure of being loved, & the difficulty of refusing, convince them that they are being passionate when they are merely being flirtatious.
November 14, 2025 at 7:01 PM
277. Women often think they are in love when they are not. The business of an intrigue, the excitement produced by a love affair, a natural predilection for the pleasure of being loved, & the difficulty of refusing, convince them that they are being passionate when they are merely being flirtatious.
276. Absence makes average passions decrease and great ones increase, just as wind extinguishes candles and kindles a fire.
November 11, 2025 at 12:12 PM
276. Absence makes average passions decrease and great ones increase, just as wind extinguishes candles and kindles a fire.
275. Innate goodness, which takes pride in being so sensitive, is often stifled by the least self-interest.
November 8, 2025 at 6:19 PM
275. Innate goodness, which takes pride in being so sensitive, is often stifled by the least self-interest.
274. The charm of novelty is to love what the flower is to the fruits: it gives it a lustre that is easily tarnished and never returns.
November 5, 2025 at 7:28 PM
274. The charm of novelty is to love what the flower is to the fruits: it gives it a lustre that is easily tarnished and never returns.
273. There are people who have the approval of society, though their only merits are the vices useful for the transactions of daily life.
November 2, 2025 at 6:43 PM
273. There are people who have the approval of society, though their only merits are the vices useful for the transactions of daily life.
272. Nothing should be more humbling to men who have deserved great praise than the care they still take to advertise themselves in trivial ways.
October 30, 2025 at 6:28 PM
272. Nothing should be more humbling to men who have deserved great praise than the care they still take to advertise themselves in trivial ways.
271. Youth is a continual drunkenness; it is the delirium of reason.
October 27, 2025 at 5:46 PM
271. Youth is a continual drunkenness; it is the delirium of reason.
270. Honours won are down payments for those still to be won.
October 24, 2025 at 9:31 AM
270. Honours won are down payments for those still to be won.
269. Hardly any man is clever enough to know all the evil he does.
October 21, 2025 at 9:11 AM
269. Hardly any man is clever enough to know all the evil he does.
267. Our readiness to believe evil, without investigating it adequately, results from pride and laziness. We want to find the guilty party, and we do not want to go to the trouble of investigating the crime.
October 17, 2025 at 5:49 PM
267. Our readiness to believe evil, without investigating it adequately, results from pride and laziness. We want to find the guilty party, and we do not want to go to the trouble of investigating the crime.
266. We are deceiving ourselves if we think only the violent passions,such as ambition & love,can conquer the others. Laziness, sluggish though it is,often manages to dominate them; it wrests from us all of life's plans & deeds, where it imperceptibly destroys & devours the passions & virtues alike.
October 14, 2025 at 6:30 PM
266. We are deceiving ourselves if we think only the violent passions,such as ambition & love,can conquer the others. Laziness, sluggish though it is,often manages to dominate them; it wrests from us all of life's plans & deeds, where it imperceptibly destroys & devours the passions & virtues alike.
265. Small-mindedness leads to stubbornness; it is hard for us to believe anything that goes beyond what we see.
October 11, 2025 at 11:43 AM
265. Small-mindedness leads to stubbornness; it is hard for us to believe anything that goes beyond what we see.