The generality of virtuous women are like hidden treasures, they are safe only because nobody has sought after them.
Francois De La RochefoucauldRead
None deserve praise for being good who have not the spirit to be bad: goodness, for the most part, is nothing but indolence or weakness of will.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True goodness requires the strength to resist wrongdoing; it is not simply a lack of desire to do wrong.
Francois De La Rochefoucauld's quote suggests that many who are considered good may simply lack the will or desire to act improperly, rather than actively choosing to do good. He implies that genuine virtue arises from the ability to choose goodness over badness; thus, moral strength and the spirit to confront temptation define true goodness.
Themes
GoodnessVirtueStrengthWillpowerMorality
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech on ethical leadership, a speaker could incorporate this quote to emphasize the importance of active moral choices.
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.
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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
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