Duc de La Rochefoucauld

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.

We would rather speak ill of ourselves than not speak of ourselves at all.

He who thinks he can find in himself the means of doing without others is much mistaken; but he who thinks that others cannot do without him is still more mistaken.

It is easier to deceive yourself, and to do so unperceived, than to deceive another.

We work so consistently to disguise ourselves to others that we end by being disguised to ourselves.

What makes us like new acquaintances is not so much any weariness of our old ones, or the pleasure of change, as disgust at not being sufficiently admired by those who know us too well, and the hope of being more so by those who do not know so much of us.

Not all those who know their minds know their hearts as well.

One who finds no satisfaction in himself seeks for it in vain elsewhere.

Sincerity is an open heart. Few people show it; usually what we see is an imitation put on to snare the confidence of others.