Hypocrisy is the tribute vice pays to virtue.
La Rochefoucauld, Maxims 218
L'hypocrisie est un hommage que le vice rend à la vertu.
Hypocrisy is the tribute vice pays to virtue.
La Rochefoucauld, Maxims 218
What it means
Even liars pretend to be good, which shows that goodness is still the standard. The fake proves the value of the real. Be the real thing.
The source
"Hypocrisy is the tribute vice pays to virtue." La Rochefoucauld said it in Maxims 218. Translated from the original French by Spartan Surfers.
"L'hypocrisie est un hommage que le vice rend à la vertu."Original French, Maxims 218. Text read at gutenberg.org.
Who said it
La Rochefoucauld (1613–1680). French duke and soldier who turned his disappointment with court life into some five hundred razor-sharp maxims about self-love.
Questions
- What does "Hypocrisy is the tribute vice pays to virtue." mean?
- Even liars pretend to be good, which shows that goodness is still the standard. The fake proves the value of the real. Be the real thing.
- Who said "Hypocrisy is the tribute vice pays to virtue."?
- La Rochefoucauld (1613–1680). Source: Maxims 218.
- What is the original French?
- L'hypocrisie est un hommage que le vice rend à la vertu. Translated from the original French by Spartan Surfers.
- Is "Hypocrisy is the tribute vice pays to virtue." on a shirt?
- Yes. We print it to order on our tees in 7 illustrated looks, from $44, with free US shipping.
Cite this line
"Hypocrisy is the tribute vice pays to virtue." (La Rochefoucauld, Maxims 218, translated by Spartan Surfers). https://spartansurfers.com/quotes/hypocrisy-is-the-tribute-vice-pays-to-virtue
Filed under Quotes about character.
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More from La Rochefoucauld
- We all have strength enough to bear other people's troubles.Maxims 19
- You can't stare at the sun, or at death.Maxims 26
- Everyone complains of their memory. No one of their judgment.Maxims 89
- Absence kills small passions and feeds great ones, like wind on candles and fire.Maxims 276
- True courage is doing unseen what you'd do in front of everyone.Maxims 216
- We have more strength than will.Maxims 30