Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680)

François de La Rochefoucauld, 2nd Duke of La Rochefoucauld, Prince de Marcillac was an accomplished French moralist of the era of French Classical literature and author of Maximes and Memoirs, the only two works of his dense literary œuvre published. His Maximes portrays the callous nature of human conduct, with a cynical attitude towards putative virtue and avowals of affection, friendship, love, and loyalty. Leonard Tancock regards Maximes as "one of the most deeply felt, most intensely lived texts in French literature", with his "experience, his likes and dislikes, sufferings and petty spites ... crystallized into absolute truths."

Quotes

No persons are more frequently wrong, than those who will not admit they are wrong.
He who lives without folly is not so wise as he imagines.
What seems to be generosity is often no more than disguised ambition, which overlooks a small interest in order to secure a great one.

Ambition
We are more interested in making others believe we are happy than in trying to be happy ourselves.
Hope is the last thing that dies in man; and though it be exceedingly deceitful, yet it is of this good use to us, that while we are traveling through life it conducts us in an easier and more pleasant way to our journey's end.
In jealousy there is more of self-love, than of love to another.
Minds of moderate caliber ordinarily condemn everything which is beyond their range.
Not all those who know their minds know their hearts as well.
We would frequently be ashamed of our good deeds if people saw all of the motives that produced them.
We think very few people sensible, except those who are of our opinion.
When we are unable to find tranquillity within ourselves, it is useless to seek it elsewhere.
Few things are impracticable in themselves; and it is for want of application, rather than of means, that men fail to succeed.
Philosophy triumphs easily over past evils and future evils; but present evils triumph over it.
Pride does not wish to owe and vanity does not wish to pay.
To be deceived by our enemies or betrayed by our friends in insupportable; yet by ourselves we are often content to be so treated.
The confidence which we have in ourselves gives birth to much of that which we have in others.
The defects of the understanding, like those of the face, grow worse as we grow old.
Vanity makes us do more things against inclination than reason.
We often forgive those who bore us, but we cannot forgive those whom we bore.
We confess our little faults to persuade people that we have no large ones.