Maxims / Francois La Rochefoucauld ; translated by Arthur L. Humphreys.
By: La Rochefoucauld, François, duc de
.
Contributor(s): Humphreys, Arthur Lee.
Material type: 
BookSeries: Wordsworth classics of world literature: Publisher: Ware, UK : Wordsworth Editions, 1997Description: xxvii, 98 p. ; 20 cm. + pbk.ISBN: 1853264873.Subject(s): Maxims, French -- Translations into EnglishDDC classification: 848.408 | Item type | Current library | Call number | Copy number | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Lending | MTU Bishopstown Library Lending | 848.408 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | 1 | Available | 00070288 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
Francois, duc de La Rochefoucauld owes his place in French literature to his 504 moral maxims and reflective epigrams. Born in 1613, he was a child of the late Renaissance, and though his philosophy seems to derive from a belief that selfishness is the source of all human behaviour, its witty precepts and dispassionate manner had a marked influence on le Philosophes of the 18th century Enlightenment.
Bibliography: (pages xxi-xxii).
Maxims -- Posthumous Maxims -- Withdrawn Maxims.
Author notes provided by Syndetics
Francois duc de La Rochefoucauld was born in Paris in 1613. Descended from a distinguished and titled Poitou family, he inherited the title of Duke when his father died in 1653. After serving in the army, where he participated in the battles of the Fronde, La Rochefoucauld took a prominent part in court life and politics during the reigns of the French kings Louis XIII and Louis XIV. In his memoirs, which were first published in 1662, he recounted his life as a young man in the army and the French court, from his numerous fights and amorous liaisons to his participation in an attempt to assassinate a Cardinal.In later years, strongly influenced by Jansenism, La Rochefoucauld began to think about the meaning of Christian life. He wrote his thoughts out in the form of maxims, a uniquely French form of epigrams. Brief, clever statements, usually with a moral focus, his maxims illustrate his perception of human behavior in often paradoxical and surprising ways. Because statements such as "Our virtues are most often vices disguised" or "We promise according to our hopes and perform according to our fears" are as relevant now as when they were written some 300 years ago, La Rochefoucauld's Maxims are still popular today.
Francois duc de La Rochefoucauld died in 1680.
(Bowker Author Biography)