François de La Rochefoucauld

Absence diminishes small loves and increases great ones, as the wind blows out the candle and fans the bonfire.

It is easier to be wise for others than for ourselves.

True love is like ghosts, which everybody talks about and few have seen.

Our envy always lasts longer than the happiness of those we envy.

We rarely think people have good sense unless they agree with us.

The height of cleverness is to be able to conceal it.

Listening well and answering well is one of the greatest perfections that can be obtained in conversation.

He who lives without folly is not as wise as he may think.

If we resist our passions, it is more due to their weakness than our strength.

A true friend is the greatest of all blessings, and that which we take the least care of all to acquire.

To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art.