“Maxims and Reflections” is a collection of wisdom and advice by Francois Duc de La Rochefoucauld, a noted French aristocrat, soldier and author. La Rochefoucauld was born in 1613 in Paris to a wealthy family and was well-educated in the traditional aristocratic studies of the time, which included military history, court etiquette, hunting, proper dress, comportment, and world relations. He took an active interest in public and political issues at a young age and was well-known during his ...

EXTRAIT:Nos vertus ne sont, le plus souvent, que des vices déguisés.1Ce que nous prenons pour des vertus n'est souvent qu'un assemblage de diverses actions et de divers intérêts, que la fortune ou notre industrie savent arranger; et ce n'est pas toujours par valeur et par chasteté que les hommes sont vaillants, et que les femmes sont chastes.2L'amour-propre est le plus grand de tous les flatteurs.3Quelque découverte que l'on ait faite...

After abandoning politics when he was about forty, François, duc de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680) began to write down his maxims, which were first published in book form in 1665. Poetic, ironic, and frequently humorous, his wise observations can also be blunt and brutally candid:Everyone blames his memory, no one his judgment.Gratitude is merely the secret hope of further favors.It is often merely for an excuse that we say things areimpossibleWe rarely thi...

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.

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...

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...

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...

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...

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."

Francisco VI, duque de La Rochefoucauld (París, 15 de septiembre de 1613–ibídem, 17 de marzo de 1680) fue un escritor, aristócrata y militar francés, conocido, sobre todo, por sus Máximas.Traducción por Narciso Alvaro y Zereza (1824)

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.