QuoteProject
Pride does not wish to owe and vanity does not wish to pay.
Francois De La Rochefoucauld
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Pride prevents us from accepting help, while vanity keeps us from offering it.

This quote by Francois De La Rochefoucauld highlights the complexities of human emotions and social interactions, emphasizing that pride can obstruct our ability to accept assistance from others, while vanity can inhibit us from reciprocating and offering help. It speaks to the idea that our ego can create barriers in relationships, ultimately undermining both our capacity to receive and to give support.

Themes

PrideVanityEgoHumilityRelationships

In practice

Example use cases

A speaker at a leadership conference might use this quote to illustrate the importance of humility in teamwork.

More from Francois De La Rochefoucauld

The generality of virtuous women are like hidden treasures, they are safe only because nobody has sought after them.
Francois De La RochefoucauldRead
Old men delight in giving good advice as a consolation for the fact that they can no longer set bad examples.
Francois De La RochefoucauldRead
Some counterfeits reproduce so very well the truth that it would be a flaw of judgment not to be deceived by them.
Francois De La RochefoucauldRead
Conceit causes more conversation than wit.
Francois De La RochefoucauldRead
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.
Francois De La RochefoucauldRead
To understand matters rightly we should understand their details; and as that knowledge is almost infinite, our knowledge is always superficial and imperfect.
Francois De La RochefoucauldRead

Similar quotes

So as through a glass and darkly_x000D_ The age long strife I see_x000D_ Where I fought in many guises,_x000D_ Many names - but always me.
George S. PattonRead
I heard you asking questions of each: Who killed the pork chops? What price bananas? Are you my Angel?
Allen GinsbergRead
My object in life is to dethrone God and destroy capitalism.
Karl MarxRead
Images of broken light which dance before me like a million eyes _x000D_ They call me on and on across the universe _x000D_ Thoughts meander like a restless wind inside a letter box _x000D_ They tumble blindly as they make their way across the universe
John LennonRead
In conversation the game is, to say something new with old words. And you shall observe a man of the people picking his way along, step by step, using every time an old boulder, yet never setting his foot on an old place.
Ralph Waldo EmersonRead
Citizenship is a tough occupation which obliges the citizen to make his own informed opinion and stand by it.
Martha GellhornRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.