“The mind is always the dupe of the heart.”

— François de La Rochefoucauld, Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims, Maxim 102, 1665–1678

About François de La Rochefoucauld

1613 – 1680

French moralist, author of the "Maxims" (1665).

“Perfect courage is to do without witnesses what one would be capable of doing with the world looking on.”

“Our virtues are most frequently but vices in disguise.”

“Self-love is the greatest of all flatterers.”

“I always thought I could write because I loved to read so much.”

“This is what my soul is telling me: be peaceful and love everyone.”

“Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, and therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.”

“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”

“If music be the food of love, play on.”

“Remember that all is opinion.”