A few months ago, I ordered a used copy of Le Rochefoucauld's Maxims. Only $6.00. Unfortunately, the book dealer didn't mention that it was in French. Besides obscene hand gestures, I doesn't know any French, so the book is worthless to me.
I have, however, found a searchable database of the Maxims . Here's the Link for other fans of this clever pessimist.
Samples:
The calm or turbulence of our temperament depends not so much on the big events in life as it does on the pleasant or unpleasant little things that happen every day.
Our enemies come nearer to the truth in their judgments of us than we do ourselves.
Madmen and fools see only with their moods.
Love, like fire, can only subsist by perpetual movement; when it ceases to hope or fear, it ceases to exist.
Good taste arises more from judgment than from intelligence.
There are few women whose worth outlasts their beauty.
The quality of moderation possessed by happy people comes from the calm that good fortune bestows upon their temperament. (Ponder that one for a minute; kinda makes your head hurt)
