More maxims of François VI, Duc de La Rochefoucauld (1613–1680):

• “We always love those who admire us; but we don’t always love those whom we admire.”
• “There are people who would never have been in love, if they had never heard talk of Love.”
• “The Generality of People judge of Men by their Reputation, or Fortune.”
• “Men would not live long in Society, if they were not the mutual Dupes of one another.”
• “Titles, instead of exalting, debase those who don’t act up to them.”
• “Prosperity is a stronger Trial of Virtue than Adversity.”
• “Weak People can’t be sincere.”
• “‘Tis more difficult to be faithful to a Mistress when on good Terms with her, than when on bad.”
• “‘Tis not so dangerous to do Ill to most Men as to do them too much Good.”
• “A Man often imagines he acts, when he is acted upon; and while his Mind aims at one thing, his Heart insensibly gravitates towards another.”
• “When great Men suffer themselves to be subdued by the Length of their Misfortunes, they discover that the Strength of their Ambition, not of their Understanding, was what supported them; and that, bating a little Vanity, Heroes are just like other Men.”
• “Cunning and Treachery proceed from Want of Capacity.”
• “If we took as much Pains to be what we ought, as we do to deceive others by disguising what we are; we might appear as we are, without being at the Trouble of any Disguise.”

And “‘Tis a Mistake to imagine that only the violent Passions, such as Ambition and Love, can triumph over the rest. Laziness, languid as it is, often masters them all; she indeed influences all our Designs and Actions, and insensibly consumes and destroys both the Passions and the Virtues.”

“Happiness is lost by criticizing it; sorrow by accepting it.” — Ambrose Bierce

“There are very few things which we know, which are not capable of being reduc’d to a Mathematical Reasoning; and when they cannot it’s a sign our knowledge of them is very small and confus’d; and when a Mathematical Reasoning can be had it’s as great a folly to make use of any other, as to grope for a thing in the dark, when you have a Candle standing by you.” — John Arbuthnot, Of the Laws of Chance, 1692

More maxims of La Rochefoucauld:

• “We should often be ashamed of our best Actions, if the world saw all their Motives.”
• “If we had no Faults ourselves, we should not take such Pleasure in observing those of others.”
• “The Reason we are so angry with such as trick us is, because they think they have more Wit than we.”
• “There are Heroes in Ill, as well as in Good.”
• “There are People who are disagreeable with great Merit; and others who with great Faults are agreeable.”
• “We easily forget Crimes that are known to none but ourselves.”
• “To judge of Love by most of its Effects, one would think it more like Hatred than Kindness.”
• “Our Merit procures us the Esteem of Men of Sense, and our Fortune that of the Public.”
• “Narrowness of Mind is the Cause of Obstinacy; and we don’t easily believe beyond what we see.”
• “Quarrels would not last long if the Fault was but on one Side.”
• “We are not able to act up to our Reason.”
• “Men are oftener treacherous through Weakness than Design.”
• “Our Self-love bears with less Patience the Condemnation of our Tastes, than of our Opinions.”
• “We are almost always tired with the Company of those whom we ought not to be tired of.”
• “The Mind, thro’ Laziness and Constancy, fixes on what is easy or agreeable to it. This Habit bounds our Knowledge; and no Man has ever given himself the trouble to extend and carry his Genius as far as it was capable of going.”

And “Few People are well-acquainted with Death. ‘Tis generally submitted to thro’ Stupidity and Custom, not Resolution; and most Men die merely because they can’t help it.”

“I detest life-insurance agents: they always argue that I shall some day die, which is not so.” — Stephen Leacock

“I can’t recall who first pointed out that the word ‘explain’ means literally to ‘flatten out.'” — Philip Slater

Proverbs from around the world:

• A pretty basket does not prevent worries. (Congo)
• Good painters need not give a name to their pictures; bad ones must. (Poland)
• Sickness comes riding on horseback and goes away on foot. (Belgium)
• The spectator is a great hero. (Afghanistan)
• Those who have to go ten miles must regard nine as only halfway. (Germany)
• The world is dark an inch ahead. (Japan)
• Those who place their ladder too steeply will easily fall backward. (Czech Republic)
• All the wealth of the world is in the weather. (Scotland)
• Those whose mother is naked are not likely to clothe their aunt. (Sudan)
• To be in the habit of no habit is the worst habit in the world. (Wales)
• What is bad luck for one is good luck for another. (Ghana)
• Good luck is the guardian of the stupid. (Sweden)
• A change is as good as a rest. (England)
• Good scribes are not those who write well, but who erase well. (Russia)
• There is no such thing as a pretty good omelette. (France)
• Of all the thirty-six alternatives, running away is the best. (China)