La Rochefoucauld, << la rawsh foo KOH, >> Duc de (1613-1680), was a French writer famous for his Maxims (1665). This work is a collection of about 500 sayings written to expose the vanity and hypocrisy the author saw underlying behavior. For example, he wrote, “We always love those who admire us, but we do not always love those whom we admire,” and “True love, however rare, is still more common than true friendship.” The Maxims have been called pessimistic, implying in nonreligious terms the fall into sin that is a part of Christian doctrine. They have also been called a representation of chance and temperament as determining human destiny.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld was born into a noble family in Paris on Sept. 15, 1613. In 1652, he was wounded fighting with the nobles against French king Louis XIV in an unsuccessful revolt called the Fronde. He died on March 16 or 17, 1680.
