The generality of virtuous women are like hidden treasures, they are safe only because nobody has sought after them.
Francois De La RochefoucauldRead
Passion makes idiots of the cleverest men, and makes the biggest idiots clever.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Passion can cloud judgment, making intelligent people act foolishly, while it can also empower less clever individuals.
This quote by Francois De La Rochefoucauld highlights the paradoxical nature of passion, suggesting that it can lead even the most intelligent individuals to make irrational decisions, while simultaneously enabling those with less intelligence to achieve unexpected success. It reflects on the idea that strong emotions can disrupt logic and rational thinking, demonstrating how deeply personal motivations can influence behavior in both positive and negative ways.
Themes
PassionJudgmentIntelligenceEmotionFoolishness
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about the importance of following your passion, this quote could be used to illustrate the dual nature of strong emotions.
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.
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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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