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The extreme pleasure we take in talking about ourselves should make us afraid that we may scarcely be giving any to our listeners.

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

L’extrême plaisir que nous prenons à parler de nous-mêmes nous doit faire craindre de n’en donner guere à ceux qui nous écoutent.

Original text (French)

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Notes from Wikiquote

Maxim 314

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

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One must listen if one wishes to be listened to.

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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.