Life & Wisdom Quote by Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Politeness, in La Rochefoucauld's hands, isn’t etiquette; it’s self-interest dressed for court. The line has the clean cruelty of a moral maxim: what looks like consideration for others is really a two-part bargain. I treat you well because I want you to treat me well, and because I want the social profit of being seen as the kind of person who treats you well. Manners become a currency, not a virtue.

That double aim matters. The first half is transactional, almost behavioral: politeness as preemptive defense against rudeness. The second half is reputational: politeness as branding. La Rochefoucauld knows that societies don’t just punish bad behavior; they reward the appearance of goodness. The phrase "esteemed polite oneself" pinpoints the real engine: not inner moral feeling, but public credit. In a world of rank, patronage, and surveillance-by-gossip, your character is something other people confer on you, and "polite" is a safe, portable label.

Context sharpens the cynicism. Writing out of 17th-century French aristocratic life, where status depended on performance and alliances could turn on a remark, La Rochefoucauld treats civility as strategy. Politeness isn’t fake in the sense of meaningless; it’s functional. It oils the machinery of hierarchy while letting everyone pretend the machine runs on virtue. The sting is that he doesn’t exempt anyone: even our best manners may be less about kindness than about the craving to be spared, approved, and admired.