“Our virtues are most frequently but vices in disguise.” - Francois de La Rochefoucauld
In the early 17th century, a French writer earned great acclaim for publishing a book of maxims that influenced French society centuries after he wrote. Important thinkers like Friedrich Nietzsche admired him, and literary critics bandied his name about in comparison and contrast to their own contemporaries.
Around the same time Blaise Pascal was writing what he intended to be a defense of the Christian faith, the Duke de Rochefoucald was publishing maxims that were so popular they were pirated across Europe and passed off as the work of others. But while Pascal’s writings, which later became the masterpiece Pensees, have earned lasting fame, Rochefoucald has largely been forgotten.
Still, Rochefoucald’s writings are a poignant reflection of the French society in which he lived. The maxims indicate a man fully aware of the political intrigue surrounding Paris, and the conflict that posed with attempting to live a moral life. This edition of Rochefoucald’s Moral Maxims is illustrated with pictures of Rochefoucald, his life and acquaintances. It also includes a Table of Contents for easier navigation.
