La Rochefoucauld

“Old men are fond of giving good advice, to console themselves for being no longer in a position to give bad examples.”

“We give advice, but we do not inspire conduct.”

“Few people know how to be old.”

“Conceit causes more conversation than wit.”

“A fashionable woman is always in love - with herself.”

“It is not enough to succeed, a friend must fail.”

“We are never so happy nor so unhappy as we imagine.”

“We are never so happy, nor so unhappy, as we suppose ourselves to be.”

“Hope, deceitful as it is, serves at least to lead us to the end of life along an agreeable road.”

“If I advance, follow me! If I retreat, kill me! If I die, avenge me!”

“If we are to judge of love by its consequences, it more nearly resembles hatred than friendship.”

“The reason why lovers and their mistresses never tire of being together is that they are always talking of themselves.”

“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?”

“Everyone complains of his lack of memory, but nobody of his want of judgement.”

“If we have not peace within ourselves, it is in vain to seek it from outward sources.”

“Affected simplicity is refined imposture.”

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

“Neither the sun nor death can be looked at steadily.”