Francois de La Rochefoucauld Biography

Francois de La Rochefoucauld, Writer
Occup.Writer
FromFrance
BornSeptember 15, 1613
DiedMarch 17, 1680
Aged66 years
François de La Rochefoucauld was a French writer, theorist, and also moralist, best recognized for his "Maximes"-- a collection of proverbs as well as epigrams illustrating life knowledge and also conduct-- and his "Mémoires", which provide understandings into the political upheavals in France during the 17th century. His job, identified by its concise, insightful, as well as frequently negative take on human nature, gained him a popular area in French literary works and affected numerous generations of authors.

Born upon September 15, 1613, in Paris, France, François VI, Duc de La Rochefoucauld, Prince de Marcillac, was the boy of François V de La Rochefoucauld as well as Gabrielle du Plessis-Liancourt. As an heir of among France's oldest as well as most influential noble families, François received a considerable education and learning, studying at the Jesuit College in La Flèche and the College de Clermont, where he got expertise in literary works, background, and approach.

In 1629, at the age of 16, La Rochefoucauld wed Andrée de Vivonne, with whom he had 8 kids. Throughout his life, he was involved crazy affairs with numerous significant ladies, consisting of the well-known writer Madame de La Fayette, with whom he kept a lifelong friendship and intellectual cooperation.

La Rochefoucauld entered the French court as a boy and also soon became involved in military affairs. He fought fearlessly in the Italian project throughout the Franco-Spanish War in the early 1630s, differentiating himself in the Battle of Veillane (1630). However, his army profession was interrupted by the distressing political scenario in France.

The Fronde-- a series of civil battles that occurred in between 1648 and 1653-- found La Rochefoucauld greatly involved on the side of the rebellious the aristocracy dealing with versus the royalist military headed by the effective Cardinal Mazarin. La Rochefoucauld's resistance to imperial authority was inspired, partially, by individual complaints versus Mazarin and also the Crown, that he felt had not adequately compensated him for his solutions. He dealt with fearlessly during the war, even enduring serious injuries. Nonetheless, the eventual royalist triumph required La Rochefoucauld right into expatriation in Blois, where he began to create his memoirs.

Going back to Paris in 1659, complying with the Peace of the Pyrenees, La Rochefoucauld relinquished national politics as well as focused on his literary quests. It was during this duration that he completed the majority of his jobs, including the critical "Maximes" (1665). In his popular collection of sayings, La Rochefoucauld uses a distinct, commonly negative, and also insightful perspective on humanity, asserting that self-involvement drives all human activities, also those disguised as virtuous. The sharp wit and epigrammatic style of the "Maximes" accomplished substantial recognition and protected La Rochefoucauld's reputation as one of France's leading moralists.

La Rochefoucauld also composed other jobs, such as the "Mémoires"-- a semi-autobiographical publication that encompasses his monitorings of French culture and also politics during the Fronde civil wars. Additionally, his influence encompassed his contemporaries-- as an example, he functioned as a very early patron of the renowned French playwright Jean Racine.

François de La Rochefoucauld passed away on March 17, 1680, in Paris. His works, particularly the "Maximes", stay an important source of insight right into the social and also political environment of 17th-century France. La Rochefoucauld's name is identified with the moralist tradition in French literary works, and his succinct, penetrating observations continue to be appreciated as well as quoted today.

Our collection contains 173 quotes who is written / told by Francois, under the main topics: Love - Wisdom - Women - Men.

Related authors: Jean Racine (Dramatist), Lawrence Taylor (Athlete)

Francois de La Rochefoucauld Famous Works:
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173 Famous quotes by Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Small: Its easier to be wise for others than for ourselves
"It's easier to be wise for others than for ourselves"
Small: Everyone complains of his memory, and nobody complains of his judgment
"Everyone complains of his memory, and nobody complains of his judgment"
Small: Though nature be ever so generous, yet can she not make a hero alone. Fortune must contribute her part
"Though nature be ever so generous, yet can she not make a hero alone. Fortune must contribute her part too; and till both concur, the work cannot be perfected"
Small: There is a kind of elevation which does not depend on fortune it is a certain air which distinguishes u
"There is a kind of elevation which does not depend on fortune; it is a certain air which distinguishes us, and seems to destine us for great things; it is a price which we imperceptibly set upon ourselves"
Small: The sure mark of one born with noble qualities is being born without envy
"The sure mark of one born with noble qualities is being born without envy"
Small: It is great folly to wish to be wise all alone
"It is great folly to wish to be wise all alone"
Small: Gracefulness is to the body what understanding is to the mind
"Gracefulness is to the body what understanding is to the mind"
Small: Jealousy is bred in doubts. When those doubts change into certainties, then the passion either ceases o
"Jealousy is bred in doubts. When those doubts change into certainties, then the passion either ceases or turns absolute madness"
Small: Self-interest makes some people blind, and others sharp-sighted
"Self-interest makes some people blind, and others sharp-sighted"
Small: Ridicule dishonors a man more than dishonor does
"Ridicule dishonors a man more than dishonor does"
Small: Repentance is not so much remorse for what we have done as the fear of the consequences
"Repentance is not so much remorse for what we have done as the fear of the consequences"
Small: Quarrels would not last long if the fault was only on one side
"Quarrels would not last long if the fault was only on one side"
Small: People that are conceited of their own merit take pride in being unfortunate, that themselves and other
"People that are conceited of their own merit take pride in being unfortunate, that themselves and others may think them considerable enough to be the envy and the mark of fortune"
Small: People always complain about their memories, never about their minds
"People always complain about their memories, never about their minds"
Small: Passion makes idiots of the cleverest men, and makes the biggest idiots clever
"Passion makes idiots of the cleverest men, and makes the biggest idiots clever"
Small: Our virtues are often, in reality, no better than vices disguised
"Our virtues are often, in reality, no better than vices disguised"
Small: Our concern for the loss of our friends is not always from a sense of their worth, but rather of our ow
"Our concern for the loss of our friends is not always from a sense of their worth, but rather of our own need of them and that we have lost some who had a good opinion of us"
Small: Our aversion to lying is commonly a secret ambition to make what we say considerable, and have every wo
"Our aversion to lying is commonly a secret ambition to make what we say considerable, and have every word received with a religious respect"
Small: Our actions seem to have their lucky and unlucky stars, to which a great part of that blame and that co
"Our actions seem to have their lucky and unlucky stars, to which a great part of that blame and that commendation is due which is given to the actions themselves"
Small: Only the contemptible fear contempt
"Only the contemptible fear contempt"
Small: One is never fortunate or as unfortunate as one imagines
"One is never fortunate or as unfortunate as one imagines"
Small: One forgives to the degree that one loves
"One forgives to the degree that one loves"
Small: No men are oftener wrong than those that can least bear to be so
"No men are oftener wrong than those that can least bear to be so"
Small: No man is clever enough to know all the evil he does
"No man is clever enough to know all the evil he does"
Small: No man deserves to be praised for his goodness, who has it not in his power to be wicked. Goodness with
"No man deserves to be praised for his goodness, who has it not in his power to be wicked. Goodness without that power is generally nothing more than sloth, or an impotence of will"
Small: Never give anyone the advice to buy or sell shares, because the most benevolent price of advice can tur
"Never give anyone the advice to buy or sell shares, because the most benevolent price of advice can turn out badly"
Small: Neither the sun nor death can be looked at with a steady eye
"Neither the sun nor death can be looked at with a steady eye"
Small: Nature seems at each mans birth to have marked out the bounds of his virtues and vices, and to have det
"Nature seems at each man's birth to have marked out the bounds of his virtues and vices, and to have determined how good or how wicked that man shall be capable of being"
Small: Most people know no other way of judging mens worth but by the vogue they are in, or the fortunes they
"Most people know no other way of judging men's worth but by the vogue they are in, or the fortunes they have met with"
Small: Most of our faults are more pardonable than the means we use to conceal them
"Most of our faults are more pardonable than the means we use to conceal them"
Small: Moderation is the feebleness and sloth of the soul, whereas ambition is the warmth and activity of it
"Moderation is the feebleness and sloth of the soul, whereas ambition is the warmth and activity of it"
Small: Men often pass from love to ambition, but they seldom come back again from ambition to love
"Men often pass from love to ambition, but they seldom come back again from ambition to love"
Small: Jealously is always born with love but it does not die with it
"Jealously is always born with love but it does not die with it"
Small: Its the height of folly to want to be the only wise one
"It's the height of folly to want to be the only wise one"
Small: They that apply themselves to trifling matters commonly become incapable of great ones
"They that apply themselves to trifling matters commonly become incapable of great ones"
Small: The accent of a mans native country remains in his mind and his heart, as it does in his speech
"The accent of a man's native country remains in his mind and his heart, as it does in his speech"
Small: Old men are fond of giving good advice to console themselves for their inability to give bad examples
"Old men are fond of giving good advice to console themselves for their inability to give bad examples"
Small: Nothing is impossible there are ways that lead to everything, and if we had sufficient will we should a
"Nothing is impossible; there are ways that lead to everything, and if we had sufficient will we should always have sufficient means. It is often merely for an excuse that we say things are impossible"
Small: Not all those who know their minds know their hearts as well
"Not all those who know their minds know their hearts as well"
Small: Mediocre minds usually dismiss anything which reaches beyond their own understanding
"Mediocre minds usually dismiss anything which reaches beyond their own understanding"
Small: However glorious an action in itself, it ought not to pass for great if it be not the effect of wisdom
"However glorious an action in itself, it ought not to pass for great if it be not the effect of wisdom and intention"
Small: Whatever good things people say of us, they tell us nothing new
"Whatever good things people say of us, they tell us nothing new"
Small: We are more often treacherous through weakness than through calculation
"We are more often treacherous through weakness than through calculation"
Small: We are easily comforted for the misfortunes of our friends, when those misfortunes give us an occasion
"We are easily comforted for the misfortunes of our friends, when those misfortunes give us an occasion of expressing our affection and solicitude"
Small: Perfect courage is to do without witnesses what one would be capable of doing with the world looking on
"Perfect courage is to do without witnesses what one would be capable of doing with the world looking on"
Small: In the human heart new passions are forever being born the overthrow of one almost always means the ris
"In the human heart new passions are forever being born; the overthrow of one almost always means the rise of another"
Small: When we disclaim praise, it is only showing our desire to be praised a second time
"When we disclaim praise, it is only showing our desire to be praised a second time"
Small: We often pardon those that annoy us, but we cannot pardon those we annoy
"We often pardon those that annoy us, but we cannot pardon those we annoy"
Small: We are all strong enough to bear other mens misfortunes
"We are all strong enough to bear other men's misfortunes"
Small: The reason that lovers never weary each other is because they are always talking about themselves
"The reason that lovers never weary each other is because they are always talking about themselves"
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