The generality of virtuous women are like hidden treasures, they are safe only because nobody has sought after them.
Francois De La RochefoucauldRead
We are easily comforted for the misfortunes of our friends, when those misfortunes give us an occasion of expressing our affection and solicitude.
Interpretation
What this quote means
People often take comfort in their friends' misfortunes because it allows them to show care and concern.
This quote highlights the dual nature of human relationships, indicating that while we may feel empathy for our friends during tough times, there can also be a sense of satisfaction in being able to demonstrate our affection for them. It suggests that expressing our care can sometimes take precedence over the actual misfortune, as we derive comfort from the opportunity to connect.
Themes
FriendshipMisfortuneAffectionCareEmpathy
In practice
Example use cases
During a eulogy, one might mention how they were able to support friends in their grieving process, referencing this quote.
More from Francois De La Rochefoucauld
All quotes βOld men delight in giving good advice as a consolation for the fact that they can no longer set bad examples.
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.
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
Similar quotes
A friend is one who incessantly pays us the compliment of expecting from us all the virtues, and who can appreciate them in us. The friend asks no return but that his friend will religiously accept and wear and not disgrace his apotheosis of him. They cherish each other's hopes. They are kind to each other's dreams.
Henry David ThoreauRead
The best thing you can possibly do for a friend is to be his friend.
Pierre TrudeauRead
I have loved my friends as I do virtue, my soul, my God.
Thomas BrowneRead
Old friendships are like meats served up repeatedly, cold, comfortless, and distasteful. The stomach turns against them.
William HazlittRead
There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship.
Thomas AquinasRead
Never contract friendship with a man that is not better than thyself.
ConfuciusRead