The generality of virtuous women are like hidden treasures, they are safe only because nobody has sought after them.
Francois De La RochefoucauldRead
We would rather speak ill of ourselves than not talk about ourselves at all.
Interpretation
People often prefer to criticize themselves rather than be ignored or remain silent.
This quote by Francois De La Rochefoucauld emphasizes the human desire for recognition and attention. It suggests that individuals would rather express negative opinions about themselves than be overlooked or not engaged in conversation at all, highlighting a fundamental need for social connection and validation.
In practice
In a speech about personal growth, one might say, 'As Francois De La Rochefoucauld observed, we would rather speak ill of ourselves than not talk about ourselves at all.'
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.
Robots of the world, you are ordered to exterminate the human race. Do not spare the men. Do not spare the women. Preserve only the factories, railroads, machines, mines, and raw materials. Destroy everything else. Then return to work. Work must not cease.
Genuine equality between the sexes can only be realized in the process of the socialist transformation of society as a whole.
Economics make homeopath and alternative healers look empirical and scientific.
Seek not that the things which happen should happen as you wish; but wish the things which happen to be as they are, and you will have a tranquil flow of life.
Here's an easy way to figure out if you're in a cult: If you're wondering whether you're in a cult, the answer is yes.
Free-will doctrine-what does it? It magnifies man into God. It declares God's purposes a nullity, since they cannot be carried out unless men are willing. It makes God's will a waiting servant to the will of man, and the whole covenant of grace dependent on human action. Denying election on the ground of injustice, it holds God to be a debtor to sinners.
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