"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"
- Francois de La Rochefoucauld
About this Quote
This quote recommends that everyone is born with an established set of virtues and vices, which these qualities will figure out how great or bad an individual can be. This suggests that an individual's character is predetermined and that they have no control over it. This could be analyzed as a fatalistic view of life, as it suggests that an individual's fate is predetermined which they have no control over it. It could also be interpreted as a method of accepting that people are born with specific characteristics which it depends on them to reconcile them. It might be seen as a method of accepting that people are various which it depends on them to make the most of their strengths and weak points. Ultimately, this quote recommends that everyone is born with a specific set of characteristics and that it depends on them to reconcile them.