Jean de la Bruyere Doe Quotations

A vain man finds it wise to speak good or ill of himself; a modest man does not talk of himself.

The favor of princes does not preclude the existence of merit, and yet does not prove that it exists. [Fr., La faveur des princes n'exclut pas le merite, et ne le suppose pas aussi.]

A man must be completely wanting in intelligence if he does not show it when actuated by love, malice, or necessity.

No vice exists which does not pretend to be more or less like some virtue, and which does not take advantage of this assumed resemblance.

A man can deceive a woman by his sham attachment to her provided he does not have a real attachment elsewhere.

Life at court does not satisfy a man, but it keeps him from being satisfied with anything else.

The flatterer does not think highly enough of himself or of others.

It is a proof of boorishness to confer a favor with a bad grace; it is the act of giving that is hard and painful. How little does a smile cost?

A man reveals his character even in the simplest things he does.

An inconstant woman is one who is no longer in love; a false woman is one who is already in love with another person; a fickle woman is she who neither knows whom she loves nor whether she loves or not; and the indifferent woman, one who does not love at all.