Maxims
by
Le Duc de La Rochefoucauld
Copyright 2011 Le Duc de La Rochefoucauld,
All rights reserved.
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ISBN-13: 978-0-8283-2280-5
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To A. W. W.
Who originally suggested and throughout
encouraged this translation, it is
affectionately dedicated
THE MAN AND HIS OWN IMAGE
(Fables de La Fontaine, I Lib. XL.)
An egotist, unrivalled, loved himself alone
And deemed himself by far the fairest of mankind,
Crying aloud that from each mirror falsehood shone,
And in his depth of folly lived content and blind;
But kindly Fate, to cure him of this sore disease,
Contrived that everywhere he sees
Those silent counselors of ladies old and young,—
Mirrors, at home, abroad, and in each tradesman's booth,
The mirrors of fair gilded youth,
The mirrors from slim girdles hung.
What does Narcissus then? He moves his habitation
To lands the most remote in his imagination,
Fearing to face again the mirror’s searching stare,
Yet even there a brook, translucent as the air,
Flowed smoothly through these distant parts.
He sees himself, is vexed, mistrusts his eyes, and starts,
Thinking himself the victim of a shadowy dream;
He seeks by every means to flee the treacherous flow,
And yet . . . how very fair the stream,
How very loath he is to go!
Apparent is, methinks, my aim;
I sing to all; this greatest of all faults
Dwells variously in each, yet constantly the same.
Our heart's the egotist whom love of self exalts;
The mirrors are the faults our neighbors all display,—
Mirrors that like true portraits our weaknesses disclose;
The brook is–– as I scarce need say—
The "Book of Maxims" that the reader knows.
SKETCH of THE
DUC DE ROCHEFOUCAULD
By Himself
I am of medium stature: I am well proportioned and my gestures are easy. My coloring is dark but harmonious. My forehead is high and rather broad, my eyes black, small and deep set; my eyebrows are dark and bushy, but well shaped. I am at a loss what to say of the shape of my nose, for it is neither hooked nor aquiline, heavy nor yet, to my knowledge, sharp; all that I can say of it is that it is large rather than small, and that it is a. trifle too long. My mouth is large and my lips are usually fairly red and neither well nor ill shaped. My teeth are white and moderately regular. People have told me that my chin is too pronounced. I have just examined myself in the mirror to ascertain the truth of the matter, and I do not quite know what judgment to pronounce. My face is certainly square or oval—I hardly know which. My hair is black, curls naturally and is sufficiently abundant to sustain my pre- tension to a Fine head.
My expression is both haughty and sad, which leads most persons to deem me supercilious, although in reality quite the reverse. My gestures are easy, perhaps too easy, for I gesticulate freely when speaking. Such, quite frankly, do I consider my exterior, and I fancy one will find that my opinion is not far from the truth. I shall be as candid in drawing the rest of my portrait, for I have sufficiently studied myself to know myself accurately; nor shall I be reticent in enumerating my good qualities nor in confessing such faults as are mine.
In the first place, as far as my disposition is concerned, I am melancholy, and that to such & degree that m three or (our years I have hardly been seen to laugh the same number of times. Nevertheless my melancholy would be bearable and even pleasant enough were I so only by temperament. Unfortunately I am the prey of many other kinds of melancholy which so strongly affect my imagination and so occupy my thoughts that for the most part I dream in silence, or when I speak, my words are scarce coherent. I am reticent with persons -whom I do not know, and I am not very communicative even to such B! I know intimately. I am well aware that this is a failing, and I will spare no pains to cure me of it. Nevertheless, inasmuch as the somber expression of my features tends to make me appear even more reserved than I am, and since it lies not within our power to rid ourselves of an unpleasant expression with which Nature has burdened us, I tear that, though I be inwardly cured, externally I shall still wear the same unfortunate address.
I love my friends, and I love them to the extent of never allowing my interests to militate against theirs. I treat them considerately, I bear patiently their disagreeable moods, but I am not effusive nor am I distressed by their absence,
Nature has made me but little curious in regard to those things which arouse the greatest curiosity in most people. Very secretive, I have no difficulty in keeping to myself what has been said to me confidentially. I lay great store by a promise, and never break one, regardless of the subject involved. This I have made an unalterable law of my existence. I am punctiliously polite with ladies, and to my knowledge have never said anything to a woman which could distress her. When they are intelligent, I prefer their conversation to that of men, for one is aware of a certain delicacy which is not to be found among 115 men. Further- more, I think they express themselves with a greater nicety and in a more agreeable manner. Gallantry I indulged in to a slight degree in former years, but now, young as I am, I have abandoned it. I have given up flirtations, and am surprised to see how many upright men are addicted to them.
I have wit, nor am I backward in asserting the fact. For why quibble over this point? To be over-reticent or to under-rate such natural advantages as we possess strikes me as concealing somewhat of vanity beneath a modest mien, and as making use of a clever ruse to lead others to believe more good of us than -we actually claim. I am satisfied that people should think me no handsomer than I paint myself,
