Francois de La Rochefoucauld Quotes

You would not call a man humane for ceasing to set mousetraps if he did so because he believed there were no mice in the house.

Intention, good or bad, is not enough.

Hope is a great falsifier. Let good judgment keep her in check.

It is humiliating to remain with our hands folded while others write history. It matters little who wins. To make a people great it is necessary to send them to battle even if you have to kick them in the pants. That is what I shall do.

Great wisdom is generous; petty wisdom is contentious. Great speech is impassioned, small speech cantankerous.

The longer you live and the more you learn, the more clearly you will feel the difference between the few men who are truly great and the mere virtuosi.

A retentive memory may be a good thing, but the ability to forget is the true token of greatness.

Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.

It is the sign of a great mind to dislike greatness, and to prefer things in measure to things in excess.

Let them call it mischief: When it is past and prospered t'will be virtue.

In the last analysis sound judgment will prevail.

Action indeed is the sole medium of expression for ethics.

A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence.

Motives are often more important than actions

Sir, I cannot look into men’s minds; I can only judge of men’s motives by their conduct.

The whole duty of man consists in being reasonable and just... I am reasonable because I know the difference between understanding and not understanding and I am just because I have no opinion about things I don’t understand.

I am approached with the most opposite opinions and advice .... These are not, however, the days of miracles, and I supposed it will be granted that I am not to expect a direct revelation. I must study the plain physical facts of the case, ascertain what is possible and learn what appears to be wise and right. The subject is difficult, and good men do not agree.

I know and do what is right better than many big men who read.

Why is it that common sense is seldom common practice?

Even a dog distinguishes between being stumbled over and being kicked.

Sinners often speak the truth. And saints have led people astray. Examine what is said, not the one who says it.

Words are but holy as the deeds they cover.

God considers not the action, but the spirit of the action.

T is the will that makes the action good or ill.