The generality of virtuous women are like hidden treasures, they are safe only because nobody has sought after them.
Francois De La RochefoucauldRead
The constancy of sages is nothing but the art of locking up their agitation in their hearts.
Interpretation
Sages maintain their calm by concealing their inner turmoil.
This quote from Francois De La Rochefoucauld suggests that truly wise individuals possess the ability to control their emotional upheavals and maintain a composed exterior. It highlights the idea that wisdom often involves an inner struggle that is not visible to others, emphasizing the importance of emotional regulation and self-mastery as essential aspects of wisdom.
In practice
In a speech about leadership, to emphasize the importance of remaining calm under pressure.
The generality of virtuous women are like hidden treasures, they are safe only because nobody has sought after them.
Old men delight in giving good advice as a consolation for the fact that they can no longer set bad examples.
Some counterfeits reproduce so very well the truth that it would be a flaw of judgment not to be deceived by them.
Conceit causes more conversation than wit.
The defects and faults of the mind are like wounds in the body; after all imaginable care has been taken to heal them up, still there will be a scar left behind, and they are in continual danger of breaking the skin and bursting out again.
To understand matters rightly we should understand their details; and as that knowledge is almost infinite, our knowledge is always superficial and imperfect.
In the intricate paths of life when difficulties and hardships confront a man, and the darkness of difficulty and suffering becomes long, it is patience only that acts like a light for a Muslim, that keeps him safe from wandering here and there, and saves him from the muddy marsh of disappointment, desperation and frustration.
Here I am, fifty-eight, and I still don't know what I'm going to be when I grow up.
Faith is not a blind thing; for faith begins with knowledge. It is not a speculative thing; for faith believes facts of which it is sure. It is not an unpractical, dreamy thing; for faith trusts, and stakes its destiny upon the truth of revelation.
Those who do not know the torment of the unknown cannot have the joy of discovery.
Everything deep is also simple and can be reproduced simply as long as its reference to the whole truth is maintained. But what matters is not what is witty but what is true.
The greatest fault is to be conscious of none.
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