{"id":33680,"date":"2021-04-20T05:30:25","date_gmt":"2021-04-20T03:30:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=33680"},"modified":"2021-04-19T13:21:00","modified_gmt":"2021-04-19T11:21:00","slug":"de-la-rochefoucaulds-maxims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/de-la-rochefoucaulds-maxims\/","title":{"rendered":"De la Rochefoucauld’s Maxims"},"content":{"rendered":"

17th century nobleman and\u00a0militaire<\/strong>1<\/a><\/sup>service member, soldier, member of the military<\/em><\/span> Fran\u00e7ois de la Rochefoucauld upset the powerful (including Cardinal Richelieu<\/a>), spent time in the Bastille prison<\/a>, and had famous friendships with the likes of la marquise de S\u00e9vign\u00e9, but is most famous today for his maxims.<\/p>\n

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Photo by\u00a0RODNAE Productions<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0from\u00a0Pexels<\/a><\/strong> [CC0]<\/p><\/div>\n

De la Rochefoucauld’s Maxims<\/h3>\n

A maxim is a short, impactful statement that highlights a fundamental truth. Based on those he left behind, de la Rochefoucauld was a keen observer of the human condition. Writing during the reign of Louis XIV, he was able, in just a few words, to capture the highs and lows of what makes people tick.<\/p>\n

I’ve only recently discovered them, but I’m hooked. Here,from R\u00e9flexions ou sentences et maximes morales<\/a> (available from the great open-source Project Gutenberg), are a few of my favorites.<\/p>\n

Sur l’amiti\u00e9<\/h3>\n

84<\/strong><\/p>\n

Il est plus honteux de se d\u00e9fier de ses amis que d’en \u00eatre tromp\u00e9.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ouvrir<\/a><\/h4>\n
It is more shameful to mistrust ones friends than to be tricked by them.<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

86<\/strong><\/p>\n

Notre d\u00e9fiance justifie la tromperie d’autrui.<\/b><\/p>\n

Ouvrir<\/a><\/h4>\n
Our mistrust (of others) justifies their perfidy.<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Sur l’amour<\/h3>\n

70<\/strong><\/p>\n

Il n’y a point de d\u00e9guisement qui puisse longtemps cacher l’amour o\u00f9 il est, ni le feindre o\u00f9 il n’est pas.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ouvrir<\/a><\/h4>\n
There is no disguise that can hide\u00a0<\/em>love\u00a0<\/em>for long where it exists, nor fake it where it does not.<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

71<\/strong><\/p>\n

Il n’y a gu\u00e8re de gens qui ne soient honteux de s’\u00eatre aim\u00e9s quand ils ne s’aiment plus.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ouvrir<\/a><\/h4>\n
Rare are those who would not be ashamed of being loved when they no longer love<\/em>.<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

72<\/strong><\/p>\n

Si on juge de l’amour par la plupart de ses effets, il ressemble plus \u00e0 la haine qu’\u00e0 l’amiti\u00e9.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ouvrir<\/a><\/h4>\n
Judging by its major effects, love ressembles hate more than it does friendship<\/em>.<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Speaking of disguises …<\/h3>\n

119<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nous sommes si accoutum\u00e9s \u00e0 nous d\u00e9guiser aux autres qu’enfin nous d\u00e9guisons\u00a0a nous-m\u00eames.<\/b><\/p>\n

Ouvrir<\/a><\/h4>\n
We are so accustomed to disguising ourselves for others (hiding ourselves from others), that we end up disguising ourselves to ourselves (hiding from ourselves).<\/i><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Two for the road …<\/h3>\n

The following make an interesting pair. Are our passions a source of strength … or a trap?<\/p>\n

8<\/strong><\/p>\n

Les passions sont les seuls orateurs qui persuadent toujours. Elles sont comme un art de la nature dont les r\u00e8gles sont infaillibles; et l’homme le plus simple qui a de la passion persuade mieux que le plus \u00e9loquent qui n’en a point.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ouvrir<\/a><\/h4>\n
Passions are the only orators who always persuade. They are like a near-infallible power of nature; and the simplest man who has passion will persaude more than the most eloquent who has none.<\/i><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

9<\/strong><\/p>\n

Les passions ont une injustice et un propre int\u00e9r\u00eat qui fait qu’il est dangereux de les suivre, et qu’on s’en doit d\u00e9fier lors m\u00eame qu’elles paraissent les plus raisonnables.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ouvrir<\/a><\/h4>\n
Passions are unjust\u00a0and have a self-interest that makes them dangerous\u00a0to follow; so much so that one needs to be wary even when they seem to be the most reasonable<\/em>.<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Louis XIV … or 14<\/h3>\n

It seems today that people can turn just about anything into a scandal. Well recently, the Italian press<\/a> (and some more reactionary conservatives in France) have gotten all worked up over the news that some people people were replacing the traditional Roman numerals in king’s names (Louis XIV) with Arabic numerals (Louis 14).2<\/a><\/sup>Somewhat embarrassingly, we Americans had our own number “scandal” of sorts not too long ago. In a survey “designed to tease out prejudice[s]”, 56% of those surveyed<\/a> said we should not be teaching Arabic numerals in American schools \ud83d\ude41 \u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

While it is true that the soon-to-reopen Mus\u00e9e Carnavalet<\/a> (like the Louvre and British Museum<\/a> before them) is using the updated Louis 14 in a selection of materials designed to improve access for visitors with disabilities, there is no wholesale replacement planned and the convention of using Roman numerals in the names of kings and emperors stands.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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