The generality of virtuous women are like hidden treasures, they are safe only because nobody has sought after them.
Francois De La RochefoucauldRead
Those that have had great passions esteem themselves for the rest of their lives fortunate and unfortunate in being cured of them.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Passions can shape our lives, and being freed from them leads to a complex sense of fortune or misfortune.
This quote reflects on the dual nature of passions and desires in human life. Those who have experienced intense passions often regard themselves both lucky and unlucky for having been freed from those strong feelings. This suggests that while passions can bring joy and purpose, they can also lead to suffering, and their absence creates a bittersweet realization about the value and impact of those emotions on one's identity.
Themes
PassionLifeFortuneFreedomIdentity
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about overcoming challenges, this quote could illustrate the bittersweet nature of letting go of strong emotions.
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.
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Conceit causes more conversation than wit.
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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
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