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Old men delight in giving good advice as a consolation for the fact that they can no longer provide bad examples.

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

Les vieillards aiment à donner de bons préceptes, pour se consoler de n'être plus en état de donner de mauvais exemples.

Original text (French)

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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.

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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.