“There is merit without attainment, but no attainment without some merit.”

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

Il y a du mérite sans élévation, mais il n'y a point d'élévation sans quelque mérite.
Maxim 400.
Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims (1665–1678)

Original

Il y a du mérite sans élévation, mais il n'y a point d'élévation sans quelque mérite.

Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims (1665–1678)

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François de La Rochefoucauld 156

French author of maxims and memoirs 1613–1680

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