Distribution Automatique

Thursday, May 1

Le Rochefoucauld

#238- "It is less dangerous to do most people harm than to show them too much kindness."

#269- "Almost no one is perceptive enough to realize all the harm he does."

#309- "There are people destined to be fools who not only do stupid things from choice but are even forced to do them by fate.

#310- "Sometimes situations occur in life where we must be a trifle mad to come off well."

#337- "Certain good qualities are like the five senses: those who entirely lack them can neither recognize nor understand them."

#341- "The hotheadedness of youth causes more damage than the apathy of old age."

#357- "Small minds are too much hurt by small things, great minds know they are trifling, and are not harmed."

#369- "The suffering we go through to keep from loving is often worse than the hardships endured by love."

#370- "There are few cowards who know how really cowardly they are."

#384- "What alone should astonish us is that we can still be astonished."

#386- "They are most often wrong who cannot bear to be."

#388- "If vanity does not topple the virtures, it leaves every last one of them swaying.

#390- "We sacrifice our welfare more willingly than our inclinations."

#402- "What counts least of all in conventional lovemaking is love."

#406- "We come newborn to every milestone of life's journey, and often act like novices at each, no matter what our age."

#480 - "When we are merely prostrated by misfortune, we often think we are steadfast; and we endure it without daring to look it in the face, as cowards consent to be killed, too frightened to defend themselves."

#421- "Self-confidence adds more to conversation than wit does."

#436- "It is easier to know mankind in general than any particular man."

#441- "In friendship as in love, we are often happier not knowing things than knowing them."

#453- "In matters of moment, we should not so much strive to create opportunities as to profit by those that arise."

#470 "All our qualities are questionable and unfixed, in good times as in bad; and they are almost all the playthings of circumstance."

#473- "However rare true love may be, true friendship is rarer."

#477- "The same strength of character that resists love can make it fierce and enduring; and weak people, who are constantly in emotional turmoil, are almost never truly flooded by passion."

#538- "A wise man needs little to be happy, just as nothing will make a fool content- wherefore, most men are miserable."

#540- "To overcome an initial desire is much easier than to satisfy all those that come after it."

#550- "It is more essential to study people than books."

#556- "It is never harder to speak well than we we feel embarassed at keeping silent."