Maximes (François de La Rochefoucauld)

Overview

The Maximes (full title Réflexions ou sentences et maximes morales) of François, duc de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680) are the most famous collection of French moralist aphorisms: short, hard-edged sentences that trace human conduct back to self-love (amour-propre). A first, unauthorised version appeared at The Hague in 1664; the author's own first edition followed in Paris in 1665 (French Wikisource gives both dates) and the book grew through five editions in his lifetime, the last in 1678 (the numbering used in the diary footnote, no. 276, is that of the 1678 text as given on Project Gutenberg). La Rochefoucauld the writer is not to be confused with the princely family of the same name that Marie meets in society (073.0342, 073.0347).

The older stub `people/mentioned/LA_ROCHEFOUCAULD.md` was auto-generated from the diary's tags and is the author as a name; this entry is his book.

Marie and the Maximes

In May-June 1876 Marie discovers him and finds her own thoughts already printed.

• 31 May 1876 (062.0047): "Voilà que je lis La Rochefoucauld et que je trouve chez lui bien des choses que j'ai dites ici. Moi qui pensais avoir trouvé quelque chose de nouveau et ce sont des choses qu'on sait et qu'on a dit depuis si longtemps."
• 4 June 1876 (062.0173-0174): during discussions on theology she reads out a maxim, "et ces paroles profanes contrastaient si fort avec les autres qu'on éclatait de rire. C'était comme du velours noir à côté du satin blanc." The maxim is L'absence diminue les passions médiocres et augmente les grandes, comme le vent éteint les bougies et allume le feu (no. 276; the diary footnote has the number and the year of the edition).
• 26 June 1876 (062.0748): she uses the same maxim again, side by side with a saying of Publius Syrus ("L'amant est comme un flambeau, plus on l'agite, plus il brûle"): "Or je n'admets pas qu'on ait pour moi des passions médiocres, quant aux grandes je m'en rapporte aux deux sages que je viens de citer."

Notes and doubts

• The wording of the maxim as Marie gives it ("L'absence diminue les passions médiocres...") differs slightly from the text on Gutenberg ("les médiocres passions"); she is quoting from memory or from another edition.
• Apart from this one maxim the diary does not say which others she read, nor in what edition.

Sources

• French Wikisource, "Réflexions ou sentences et maximes morales" (dates 1664 and 1665): https://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/R%C3%A9flexions_ou_sentences_et_maximes_morales
• Project Gutenberg ebook 14913, maxim 276.
• Wikipedia, "François de La Rochefoucauld (writer)".