The generality of virtuous women are like hidden treasures, they are safe only because nobody has sought after them.
Francois De La RochefoucauldRead
The moderation of people in prosperity is the effect of a smooth and composed temper, owing to the calm of their good fortune.
Interpretation
Moderation in success comes from a balanced and calm temperament, influenced by favorable circumstances.
This quote by Francois De La Rochefoucauld suggests that when people experience prosperity, their ability to remain moderate and balanced often stems from their tranquility and comfort that comes with their good fortune. Essentially, it highlights the idea that having success is easier when one is already in a peaceful state of mind, and suggests that positive circumstances can lead to a more composed and restrained approach to life.
In practice
This quote can be used during a motivational speech about handling success gracefully.
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.
Selfishness is not living your life as you wish to live it. Selfishness is wanting others to live their lives as you wish them to.
Nonsense remains nonsense even when we talk it about God.
One-third to one-half of humanity are said to go to bed hungry every night. In the Old Stone Age the fraction must have been much smaller. This is the era of hunger unprecedented. Now, in the time of the greatest technical power, is starvation an institution. Reverse another venerable formula: the amount of hunger increases relatively and absolutely with the evolution of culture.
Where both reason and experience fall short, there occurs a vacuum that can be filled by faith.
In Africa, when an old man dies, it's a library burning.
Most persons are so absorbed in the contemplation of the outside world that they are wholly oblivious to what is passing on within themselves. The premature death of millions is primarily traceable to this cause. Even among those who exercise care, it is a common mistake to avoid imaginary, and ignore the real dangers. And what is true of an individual also applies, more or less, to a people as a whole.
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