Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims

Francois VI, Duc De La Rochefoucauld, le Prince de Marcillac (1613-1680), was a noted French author of maxims and memoirs, as well as an example of the accomplished 17th-century nobleman. He was born in Paris in the Rue des Petits Champs, at a time when the royal court oscillated between aiding the nobility and threatening it. Until 1650, he bore the title of Prince de Marcillac. His importance as a social and historical figure is, however, far inferior to his importance in literature. His work in this respect consists of three parts-letters, Memoirs and the Maximes. With a few exceptions La Rochefoucauld's maxims represent the matured result of the reflection of a man deeply versed in the business and pleasures of the world, and possessed of an extraordinarily fine and acute intellect, on the conduct and motives which have guided himself and his fellows. La Rochefoucauld's theories about human nature are based on such topics as self-interest and selflove, passions and emotions, vanity, relationships, love, conversation, insincerity, and trickery. His writings are very concise, straightforward, and candid.