The generality of virtuous women are like hidden treasures, they are safe only because nobody has sought after them.
Francois De La RochefoucauldRead
The person giving the advice returns the confidence placed in him with a disinterested eagerness... and he is usually guided only by his own interest or reputation.
Interpretation
People often give advice to fulfill their own interests rather than the needs of the one seeking guidance.
This quote highlights the often self-serving nature of advice-giving, suggesting that individuals who dispense advice may do so not purely out of altruism, but rather to enhance their own reputation or interests. It exposes the complex dynamics of trust in relationships, indicating that while advice might be given with the appearance of disinterest, underlying motivations can reveal a more self-centered agenda.
In practice
Using this quote in a discussion about the nature of mentorship and guidance.
The generality of virtuous women are like hidden treasures, they are safe only because nobody has sought after them.
Old men delight in giving good advice as a consolation for the fact that they can no longer set bad examples.
Some counterfeits reproduce so very well the truth that it would be a flaw of judgment not to be deceived by them.
Conceit causes more conversation than wit.
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.
To understand matters rightly we should understand their details; and as that knowledge is almost infinite, our knowledge is always superficial and imperfect.
"Some would call you a saint, some a chandala; some a lunatic, others a demon. Go on then straight to thy work without heeding either" - thus saith one of our great Sannyasins, an old emperor of India, King Bhartrihari, who joined the order in old times.
You ought to be thankful a hole heaping lot, for The places and people you're lucky you're not!
It is difficult to fight against anger; for a man will buy revenge with his soul.
Training the intellect does not result in intelligence. Intelligence comes into being when one acts in perfect harmony, both intellectually and emotionally.
Nothing is lost upon a man who is bent upon growth; nothing wasted on one who is always preparing for - life by keeping eyes, mind and heart open to nature, men, books, experience - and what he gathers serves him at unexpected moments in unforeseen ways.
I think we'd be very foolish to expect that we can just import everything from somewhere else and imagine that that's going to last for ever and ever and ever
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.