Skip to content

'Tis thus we heed no instincts but our own;
Believe no evil till the evil's done.

— Jean de La Fontaine Fables (1668)

Nous n'écoutons d'instincts que ceux qui sont les nôtres,
Et ne croyons le mal que quand il est venu.

Original text (French)

Another quote →

More quotes by Jean de La Fontaine

Man is so made that when anything fires his soul, impossibilities vanish.

Fables (1668)

Dressed in the lion's skin, the ass spread terror far and wide.

Fables (1668)

Beware, as long as you live, of judging people by appearances.

Fables (1668)

Patience and time do more than strength or passion.

Fables (1668)

The opinion of the strongest is always the best.

Fables (1668)

All Jean de La Fontaine quotes →

Attribution

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