“Few women's merit lasts as long as their beauty.”
Il y a peu de femmes dont le mérite dure plus que la beauté.
Maxim 474.
Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims (1665–1678)
Original
Il y a peu de femmes dont le mérite dure plus que la beauté.
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François de La Rochefoucauld 156
French author of maxims and memoirs 1613–1680Related quotes
“It is thought that women inspire by their beauty; more often they do so by their longings.”
Source: A Time in Rome (1960), Ch. IV, p. 132
Source: The Sense of Wonder (1965)
Context: Those who dwell, as scientists or laymen, among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life. Whatever the vexations or concerns of their personal lives, their thoughts can find paths that lead to inner contentment and to renewed excitement in living. Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.
“Nothing lasts forever, few things even last for long: all are susceptible of decay in one way or another; moreover all that begins also ends.”
Nihil perpetuum, pauca diuturna sunt; aliud alio modo fragile est, rerum exitus variantur, ceterum quicquid coepit et desinit.
From Ad Polybium De Consolatione (Of Consolation, To Polybius), chap. I; translation based on work of Aubrey Stewart
Other works
“Amongst the sons of men how few are known
Who dare be just to merit not their own?”
Epistle to William Hogarth (July 1763)
“I love beautiful women, and beautiful women love me. It has to be both ways.”
Interview with Norwegian talk show host Fredrik Skavlan in (November 2003).
2000s
“Beauties in vain their pretty eyes may roll;
Charms strike the sight, but merit wins the soul.”
Canto V, line 33
The Rape of the Lock (1712, revised 1714 and 1717)
On trying to understand Soviet policies, as quoted in The Wise Men (1986) by Walter Isaacson and Evan Thomas