French
Author and
Nobleman
(September 15,
1613 -
March 17,
1680)
"Absence diminishes mediocre passions and increases great ones, as the wind extinguishes candles and fans fires."
"As one grows older, one becomes wiser and more foolish. "
"Good advice is something a man gives when he is too old to set a bad example."
"Gracefulness is to the body what understanding is to the mind."
"Hope, deceiving as it is, serves at least to lead us to the end of our lives by an agreeable route."
"However rare true love may be, it is less so than true friendship."
"Nothing is so contagious as example; and we never do any great good or evil which does not produce its like."
"One is never as unhappy as one thinks, nor as happy as one hopes."
"Quarrels would not last long if the fault was only on one side."
"A true friend is the greatest of all blessings, and that which we take the least care of all to acquire."
"We are so accustomed to disguise ourselves to others that in the end we become disguised to ourselves."
"We promise according to our hopes and perform according to our fears."
"A wise man thinks it more advantageous not to join the battle than to win."
