The generality of virtuous women are like hidden treasures, they are safe only because nobody has sought after them.
Francois De La RochefoucauldRead
We torment ourselves rather to make it appear that we are happy than to become so.
Interpretation
What this quote means
People often pretend to be happy to avoid confronting their true feelings.
This quote suggests that individuals can sometimes choose to focus on the appearance of happiness rather than addressing their real emotions and seeking genuine joy. It highlights the tendency of people to self-torment and maintain facades, which can hinder true emotional well-being.
Themes
HappinessAppearanceEmotionAuthenticitySelf-Torment
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about mental health in a public seminar.
More from Francois De La Rochefoucauld
All quotes →Old men delight in giving good advice as a consolation for the fact that they can no longer set bad examples.
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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
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Happy. Just in my swim shorts, barefooted, wild-haired, in the red fire dark, singing, swigging wine, spitting, jumping, running—that's the way to live. All alone and free in the soft sands of the beach by the sigh of the sea out there, with the Ma-Wink fallopian virgin warm stars reflecting on the outer channel fluid belly waters. And if your cans are redhot and you can't hold them in your hands, just use good old railroad gloves, that's all.
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In order to be truly happy, you must live along with, and you must stand for something larger than yourself.
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One thing I am convinced more and more is true, and that is this: The only way to be truly happy is to make others happy. When you realize that and take advantage of the fact, everything is made perfect.
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Things and conditions can give you pleasure but they cannot give you joy- joy arises from within.
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As long as you live keep smiling because it brightens everybody's day.
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