"Usually we praise only to be praised"
About this Quote
A compliment, La Rochefoucauld suggests, is rarely a gift; it is a down payment on reciprocation. The line has the compressed brutality of a court maxim because it was forged in a world where language functioned as social currency. In 17th-century France, praise wasn’t just niceness, it was navigation: a way to secure favor, soften rivals, and signal allegiance in salons and at court, where reputation could be advanced or annihilated by a sentence.
The intent is not to deny that admiration exists, but to puncture the flattering story we tell ourselves about our own generosity. “Usually” is the key blade. He leaves a narrow exit for sincere appreciation, then slams the larger door: most praise is transactional, a bid for status disguised as virtue. That subtext lands because praise is one of the few forms of manipulation that feels like morality. It lets the speaker appear magnanimous while quietly angling for inclusion, protection, or validation.
Form matters here. The aphorism is short enough to feel like a law of human nature, and its symmetry (“praise” / “praised”) mimics the mirror it accuses us of loving. It’s also a social warning: if you’re seduced by flattery, you’re not merely vain, you’re predictable. La Rochefoucauld’s cynicism isn’t decorative; it’s diagnostic, a guide to reading motives in environments where politeness is weaponry and sincerity is often just a more elegant strategy.
The intent is not to deny that admiration exists, but to puncture the flattering story we tell ourselves about our own generosity. “Usually” is the key blade. He leaves a narrow exit for sincere appreciation, then slams the larger door: most praise is transactional, a bid for status disguised as virtue. That subtext lands because praise is one of the few forms of manipulation that feels like morality. It lets the speaker appear magnanimous while quietly angling for inclusion, protection, or validation.
Form matters here. The aphorism is short enough to feel like a law of human nature, and its symmetry (“praise” / “praised”) mimics the mirror it accuses us of loving. It’s also a social warning: if you’re seduced by flattery, you’re not merely vain, you’re predictable. La Rochefoucauld’s cynicism isn’t decorative; it’s diagnostic, a guide to reading motives in environments where politeness is weaponry and sincerity is often just a more elegant strategy.
Quote Details
| Topic | Wisdom |
|---|
More Quotes by Francois
Add to List
