The generality of virtuous women are like hidden treasures, they are safe only because nobody has sought after them.
Francois De La RochefoucauldRead
Some counterfeits reproduce so very well the truth that it would be a flaw of judgment not to be deceived by them.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Counterfeits can be so convincing that it's a sign of poor judgment to not be fooled by them.
This quote reflects on the nature of deception and truth, suggesting that some imitations are so skillful that recognizing them as false requires a level of discernment. It highlights the complexity of human perception, where the lines between authenticity and imitation can often blur, leading one to question the essence of truth itself.
Themes
DeceptionTruthJudgmentPerceptionImitation
In practice
Example use cases
During a philosophical debate about reality, one might use this quote to illustrate the challenge of discerning truth from appearances.
More from Francois De La Rochefoucauld
All quotes →Old men delight in giving good advice as a consolation for the fact that they can no longer set bad examples.
Francois De La RochefoucauldRead
Conceit causes more conversation than wit.
Francois De La RochefoucauldRead
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.
Francois De La RochefoucauldRead
To understand matters rightly we should understand their details; and as that knowledge is almost infinite, our knowledge is always superficial and imperfect.
Francois De La RochefoucauldRead
In most of mankind gratitude is merely a secret hope of further favors.
Francois De La RochefoucauldRead
Similar quotes
All government, indeed every human benefit and enjoyment, every virtue, and every prudent act, is founded on compromise and barter.
Edmund BurkeRead
I came to a point where I needed solitude and just stop the machine of ‘thinking’ and ‘enjoying’ what they call ‘living’, I just wanted to lie in the grass and look at the clouds.
Jack KerouacRead
I wept heartily over this poor little deceased soul. It was the first sentient being I had ever killed. I was now a killer. I was now as guilty as Cain. I was sixteen years old, a harmless boy, bookish and religious, and now I had blood on my hands. It's a terrible burden to carry. All sentient life is sacred.
Yann MartelRead
He became absorbed beyond mere happiness as he felt himself exercising control over living things. He talked to them, urging them, ordering them. Driven back by the tide, his footprints became bays in which they were trapped and gave him the illusion of mastery.
William GoldingRead
In the first place, it is to be remembered, that the general government is not to be charged with the whole power of making and administering laws. Its jurisdiction is limited to certain enumerated objects, which concern all the members of the republic, but which are not to be attained by the separate provisions of any.
James MadisonRead
The only time laughter is wicked is when it is turned against Him Who gave it.
Fulton J. SheenRead