PhilosophersFrançois de La Rochefoucauld
François de La Rochefoucauld
Self-love hides behind almost all our virtues: our virtues are most often vices in disguise.
1613 · 1680 FranceParis
Life
French nobleman and writer (Paris 1613 - Paris 1680), a player in the Fronde and later a moralist. His Maxims (first edition 1665, fifth 1678) are brief, dry sentences that show self-love behind apparent virtues. He frequented the salon of Madame de Lafayette. His view of human nature left a mark on French moral thought.
Main works
1662
Memoirs
An account of the intrigues of the Fronde.
1665
Maxims
A collection of maxims tracing virtues back to self-love, revised and expanded up to 1678.
In his own words
« Our virtues are, most often, only vices in disguise. »
« Hypocrisy is a tribute that vice pays to virtue. »
« Virtues are lost in self-interest as rivers are lost in the sea. »
Positions
click a row to see the evidenceAre humans naturally good?Human nature
Fundamentally weak or corruptFundamentally good or perfectible
Stated
Self-love (amour-propre) lies behind almost all our virtues, which are most often vices in disguise.
La Rochefoucauld, Maximes (1665)