SOME
MAXIMS OF ROCHEFOUCAULD
Le Due de La Rochefoucauld was a
noted French moralist. As an author he belonged to the era of French classical
literature. He was born in Paris on 15
September 1613 and died there on 17 March 1680.
La Rouchefoucauld wrote a lot.
However, Maxims and Memoirs are the only two books for which he is not only
famous but will also remain alive for centuries to come.
The dictionary meaning of ‘maxim’ is
---a short pithy, statement which expresses a general truth or rule of conduct.
Some similar words are: aphorism, adage, precept, epigram, axiom, and proverb.
A maxim is also considered
pedagogical because motivates specific actions pertaining to a specific
philosophy.
One of the commentators says : Like
his seventeenth century contemporaries, La Rouchefoucauld did not believe in the
goodness of human nature, and his maxims seek to expose lies disguised as
truth, vice disguised as virtue, and the selfishness underlying good deeds.
Look at one of his famous quotes:
“We are so
accustomed to disguise ourselves to others, that in the end, we become
disguised to ourselves.”
In his biographical sketch La
Rouchefoucauld said: I am reticent with persons whom I do not know, and I am
not very communicative even to such as I know.
At another place in his personal
sketch, he says: My passions are not
violent and are well controlled. Rarely has any one seen me in a rage, nor have
I ever hated any person. Nevertheless, I am not above revenge if I have been
offended in such manner that honour demands that I resent the insult. Indeed I
am convinced that my sense of duty would so well play the part of hate that I
should pursue my vengeance even more tenaciously than the next man.
Finally, here is a selection of ten
short maxims:
*An
enthusiastic simpleton is more persuasive than a silver-tongued orator.
*However
artfully we cloak our passions with piety and honour, the veil is transparent.
*We all have
strength to bear our neighbour’s burden.
*True
happiness lies in the possession of that which pleases, not others, but
ourselves.
*Grace is to
the body what reason is to the mind,
*No disguise
can mask love, nor feign it for long.
*Old people
like to give good advice, since they can no longer set bad examples.
*Mind cannot
play the part of heart for long.
*Many a
marriage is happy; none is ideal,
*Nature
creates ability; circumstances set it in motion.
*******
G.R.Kanwal
24 July 2025
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