The generality of virtuous women are like hidden treasures, they are safe only because nobody has sought after them.
Francois De La RochefoucauldRead
To establish oneself in the world, one does all one can to seem established there already.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that people often adopt a facade of success to appear more established or accepted in society.
Francois De La Rochefoucauld points out the human tendency to project a sense of stability and success in order to gain social acceptance and credibility. This behavior reflects a deeper understanding of social dynamics, as individuals often feel pressured to conform to the expectations of others, sometimes leading to a disconnection between their actual circumstances and the image they portray.
Themes
AppearanceSuccessSocietyAcceptanceImage
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about personal branding, one might say this quote to highlight the importance of managing perceptions.
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
This suspense is terrible. I hope it will last.
Oscar WildeRead
I believe there is complete equality between men and women. And I believe those passages in the New Testament, not by Jesus, but by Paul, that say women should not adorn themselves, they should always wear hats or color their hair in church - things like that - I think they are signs of the times and should not apply to modern-day life.
Jimmy CarterRead
First Amendment freedoms are most in danger when the government seeks to control thought or to justify its laws for that impermissible end. The right to think is the beginning of freedom, and speech must be protected from the government because speech is the beginning of thought.
Anthony KennedyRead
Predominant opinions are generally the opinions of the generation that is vanishing.
Benjamin DisraeliRead
If you go searching for the Great Creator, you will come back empty-handed. The source of the universe is ultimately unknowable, a great invisible river flowing forever through a vast and fertile valley. Silent and uncreated, it creates all things.
LaoziRead
I remember how my mother would bring us to chapel on Sundays... and my father used to wait outside. One of the things that I picked up from my father and my mother was the sense that religion often gets in the way of God. For me, at least, it got in the way.
BonoRead