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We may bestow advice, but we cannot inspire the conduct.

— François de La Rochefoucauld Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims (1665)

On donne des conseils mais on n'inspire point de conduite.

Original text (French)

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Variants

We give advice but do not inspire behavior.

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Advice

More quotes by François de La Rochefoucauld

To succeed in the world we do everything we can to appear successful already.

Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims (1665)

We hardly find any persons of good sense save those who agree with us.

Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims (1665)

We all have strength enough to endure the misfortunes of others.

Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims (1665)

One must listen if one wishes to be listened to.

Truth does not do so much good in the world, as the appearance of it does evil.

All François de La Rochefoucauld quotes →

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: François de La Rochefoucauld (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.