Skip to content

It is not a pain to give to ingrates, but it is an intolerable one to be obliged to a dishonest man.

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

Ce n'est pas un grand malheur d'obliger des ingrats, mais c'en est un insupportable d'être obligé à un malhonnête homme.

Original text (French)

Another quote →

Variants

It is not a great misfortune to be of service to ingrates, but it is an intolerable one to be obliged to a dishonest man.

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 →

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.