Moral Reflections, Sentences and Maxims of Francis, Duc de la Rochefoucauld

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1851 edition. Excerpt: ...with him, he may suffer some evil, and that an evil of such a description as has been stated."--Rhet. book ii. ch. viii. The philosopher Aristippus appears to have held a nearly similar opinion, for "being asked why men gave to the poor rather than to philosophers, he replied, because they think themselves may sooner come to be poor than to be philosophers."--Bacon, Apophthegms. H we render them are, to speak properly, a good which. we do to ourselves by anticipation. 276. Narrowness of mind is the cause of obstinacy--we do not easily believe what is beyond our sight. 277. It is deceiving ourselves to fancy that it is only the violent passions, such as ambition and love, which can triumph over the others. In Publius Syrus is to the same effect: --"Homo qui in homine calamitoso est misericors meminit sui. In adversis tutelam parat, qui in secundis commodat." Hobbes says, "Grief for the calamity of another is pity, and ariseth from the imagination that a like calamity may befall himself, and therefore is called compassion."--Leviathan. "On ne plaint jamais dans autrui que les maux dont on ne se croit pas exempt soi-meme."--Bousseau, Emile, 4. La Bruyere, in a passage aimed probably at La Rochefoucauld, has a stinging remark on these definitions, which, indeed, it goes far towards overthrowing: --" S'il est vrai que la pitie ou la compassion soit un retour vers nousmemes qui nous met en la place des malheureux, pourquoi tirent-ils de nous si peu de soulagement dans leurs miseres?"--Du Coeur. dolence, all languid as it is, nevertheless is frequently their master; it spreads its dominion over all the designs and all the actions of life, and thus destroys and insensibly consumes the passions and the virtues. 278....