Francois Duc de La Rochefoucauld

Reflections Francois Duc de La Rochefoucauld

1.-What we term virtue is often but a mass of various actions and divers interests, which fortune, or our own industry, manage to arrange; and it is not always from valour or from chastity that men are brave, and women chaste."Who combats bravely is not therefore brave, He dreads a death-bed like the meanest slave; Who reasons wisely is not therefore wise, His pride in reasoning, not in acting, lies." Pope, Moral Essays, Ep. i. line 115.2.-Self-love is the greatest of flatterers.3.-Whatever discoveries have been made in the region of self-love, there remain many unexplored territories there.[This is the first hint of the system the author tries to develope. He wishes to find in vice a motive for all our actions, but this does not suffice him; he is obliged to call other passions to the help of his system and to confound pride, vanity, interest and egotism with self love. This confusion destroys the unity of his principle.-Aimé Martin.]4.-Self love is more cunning than the most cunning man in the world.5.-The duration of our passions is no more dependant upon us than the duration of our life. [Then what becomes of free will?-Aimé; Martin]6.-Passion often renders the most clever man a fool, and even sometimes renders the most foolish man clever.