Francois Duc de La Rochenfoucauld

French writer and moralist of the 17th century

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About

François VI, Duke of La Rochefoucauld, born September 15, 1613 in Paris and died March 17, 1680 in the same city, was a French writer and moralist, a major figure of classical literature. Engaged in the army, he fought in Italy, the Netherlands, and Flanders, before playing a leading role in the Fronde rebellion against Cardinal Mazarin, which led to political disgrace. He then turned to literature, frequenting the salons of the Marquise de Sablé and Madame de La Fayette. His main work, the Maxims, published anonymously in 1665, offers a disillusioned analysis of self-interest and human hypocrisy. He also authored Memoirs on the Fronde.

Major works

Réflexions ou sentences et maximes morales (1665)maxims
Mémoires (1662)memoirs

Key milestones

1661Admitted to the Order of the Holy Spirit.
1650Becomes Duke of La Rochefoucauld after his father's death.
1648Actively participates in the Fronde against Cardinal Mazarin.

Themes

self-lovevanityhypocrisyhuman naturemorality

Sources: britannica.com · whistler.arts.gla.ac.uk

“He who thinks he can find in himself the means of doing without others is much mistaken; but he who thinks that others cannot do without him is still more mistaken.”

— Francois Duc de La RochenfoucauldTheme · Society

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“It is easier to deceive yourself, and to do so unperceived, than to deceive another.”

— Francois Duc de La RochenfoucauldTheme · Psychology

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“What makes us like new acquaintances is not so much any weariness of our old ones, or the pleasure of change, as disgust at not being sufficiently admired by those who know us too well, and the hope of being more so by those who do not know so much of us.”

— Francois Duc de La RochenfoucauldTheme · Psychology

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