The generality of virtuous women are like hidden treasures, they are safe only because nobody has sought after them.
Francois De La RochefoucauldRead
Why is it that our memory is good enough to retain the least triviality that happens to us, and yet not good enough to recollect how often we have told it to the same person?
Interpretation
What this quote means
Our memory can recall trivial details but often forgets repeated conversations with others.
This quote reflects on the paradox of human memory, where we are capable of remembering insignificant details that occur in our lives, yet we struggle to remember how often we have shared those same details with others. It suggests a commentary on the nature of memory and how our minds prioritize certain information over other, often more significant interactions.
Themes
MemoryTrivialityRecollectionHuman Nature
In practice
Example use cases
During a talk on the nature of memory, this quote can illustrate the complexities of how we remember events.
More from Francois De La Rochefoucauld
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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.
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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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