According to Wikipedia: "François VI, duc de La Rochefoucauld, prince de Marcillac (September 15, 1613 March 17, 1680), was a noted French author of maxims and memoirs, as well as an example of the accomplished 17th-century nobleman. He was born in Paris in the Rue des Petits Champs, at a time when the royal court oscillated between aiding the nobility and threatening it. Until 1650, he bore the title of prince de Marcillac."

These maxims of the French Duc remain one of the best books of its kind and have been translated into many languages and frequently into English. The present edition by John Heard noted translator of Ronsard von Hofmannsthal Clemenceau and others was originally published by Houghton Miflfin and long since out-of-print. It is issued complete and unabridged including the Sketch of the Author written by himself.

Our virtues are most frequently but vices in disguise.- Francois de La RochefoucauldIn the early 17th century, a French writer earned great acclaim for publishing a book of maxims that influenced French society centuries after he wrote. Important thinkers like Friedrich Nietzsche admired him, and literary critics bandied his name about in comparison and contrast to their own contemporaries. Around the same time Blaise Pascal was writing what he intended to be a defense of the Christian fai...

We all have strength enough to endure the misfortunes of others.This famed work by a noted French author of the Renaissance era, seventeenth-century nobleman François de La Rochefoucauld, offers hundreds of brief, brutally honest observations of humankind and its self-serving nature. The perfect read for any realist—or anyone with the desire to evaluate their moral standing—this edition includes three supplements with additional maxims and essays.

Wisdom for today's world from three great thinkers of the Renaissance era.This collection of three philosophical works by Renaissance men offers timeless advice on how to prosper and live morally in business, romance, religion, and society. Although written in the Renaissance era, these guides still resonate today and are collected here for easy reference.In The Art of Worldly Wisdom, Baltasar Gracián advises people of all walks of life how to appro...

François VI, duc de La Rochefoucauld was a seventeenth century moralist, who became the leading exponent of the ‘maxime’, a French literary form of epigram that expresses a harsh or paradoxical truth with brevity. He muses on honour, fate, friendship, love and the human tendency for self-delusion. His experience with the royal court during the Fronde influenced his thinking immensely. An exemplar of the older noblesse, La Rochefoucauld influenced numerous philosophers and men of le...

This famed work by a noted French author of the Renaissance era, seventeenth-century nobleman François de La Rochefoucauld, offers hundreds of brief, brutally honest observations of humankind and its self-serving nature. The perfect read for any realist—or anyone with the desire to evaluate their moral standing—this edition includes three supplements with additional maxims and essays.

The philosophy of La Rochefoucauld, which influenced French intellectuals as diverse as Voltaire and the Jansenists, is captured here in more than 600 penetrating and pithy aphorisms.

What we term virtue is often but a mass of various actions and divers interests, which fortune, or our own industry, manage to arrange; and it is not always from valour or from chastity that men are brave, and women chaste."Who combats bravely is not therefore brave, He dreads a death-bed like the meanest slave; Who reasons wisely is not therefore wise, His pride in reasoning, not in acting, lies." Pope, Moral Essays, Ep. i. line 115.

In "Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims," François duc de La Rochefoucauld presents a profound exploration of human behavior, morality, and the intricacies of social interactions through succinct, epigrammatic insights. Written in the 17th century and emerging from the backdrop of the French Renaissance, the work reflects a keen psychological acuity, employing a distinctive literary style that blends wit and observation. La Rochefoucauld's maxims articulate the complex interplay bet...

"Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims" by François duc de La Rochefoucauld is a profound collection of aphorisms that delve into the complexities of human nature and social behavior. La Rochefoucauld's keen observations reveal the often contradictory motivations behind people's actions, highlighting themes of vanity, self-interest, and the intricacies of relationships. His concise and impactful style invites readers to reflect on their own experiences and the moral fabric of society,...

Discover the sharp insights of human nature in *Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims* by François duc de La Rochefoucauld. This collection of poignant aphorisms delves into the intricacies of love, virtue, and the complexities of social interactions, offering readers a mirror reflecting their own lives.What if the truths of life could be distilled into powerful maxims? La Rochefoucauld's observations cut to the heart of human behavior, revealing the o...