“When not prompted by vanity, we say little.”

—  François de La Rochefoucauld, book Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims

On parle peu quand la vanité ne fait pas parler.
Variant translation: We say little when vanity does not make us speak.
Maxim 137.
Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims (1665–1678)

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François de La Rochefoucauld photo
François de La Rochefoucauld156
French author of maxims and memoirs 1613–1680

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