Ben Wilson

And his first move is to get his fortune back by networking his way into some good business contracts and through clever business schemes, many of them hatched by his chief servant, the head of his household. And then he spends most of his time away from his estate in Paris in literary groups. He himself becomes the star writer of France at the time.

He produces two great literary works, his memoirs and his maxims. And of the two, the maxims are by far the most famous and enduring – One of the reasons for doing this episode is that I noticed his name in all of the Coco Chanel biographies I read. His name pops up because she was a huge fan of his maxims.

He produces two great literary works, his memoirs and his maxims. And of the two, the maxims are by far the most famous and enduring – One of the reasons for doing this episode is that I noticed his name in all of the Coco Chanel biographies I read. His name pops up because she was a huge fan of his maxims.

And, you know, as I mentioned in the introduction, they were also a huge inspiration on Nietzsche. And many great people, especially Frenchmen, have been fans of Rochefoucauld, including Napoleon, Voltaire, Talleyrand, and Joubert. So, you know, what is this great work? What are his maxims? Why has this captured the imagination of so many great figures throughout history?

And, you know, as I mentioned in the introduction, they were also a huge inspiration on Nietzsche. And many great people, especially Frenchmen, have been fans of Rochefoucauld, including Napoleon, Voltaire, Talleyrand, and Joubert. So, you know, what is this great work? What are his maxims? Why has this captured the imagination of so many great figures throughout history?

The primary theme is what Rochefoucauld calls self-love. We would probably call it self-interest. But the general idea is that everything is done out of self-interest, okay? It's quite a cynical philosophy. So the first maxim is, what we term virtue is often but a mass of various actions and diverse interests, which fortune or our own industry managed to arrange.

The primary theme is what Rochefoucauld calls self-love. We would probably call it self-interest. But the general idea is that everything is done out of self-interest, okay? It's quite a cynical philosophy. So the first maxim is, what we term virtue is often but a mass of various actions and diverse interests, which fortune or our own industry managed to arrange.

And it is not always from valor or from chastity that men are brave and women chaste, okay? In other words, his opening aphorism is that good behavior isn't always what it seems. People have ulterior motives. And this is something repeated very often. Another common theme is the general fickleness and untrustworthiness of human nature.

And it is not always from valor or from chastity that men are brave and women chaste, okay? In other words, his opening aphorism is that good behavior isn't always what it seems. People have ulterior motives. And this is something repeated very often. Another common theme is the general fickleness and untrustworthiness of human nature.

For example, he writes, men are not only prone to forget benefits and injuries, they even hate those who have obliged them and cease to hate those who have injured them. The necessity of revenging an injury or recompensing a benefit seems a slavery to which they are unwilling to submit.

For example, he writes, men are not only prone to forget benefits and injuries, they even hate those who have obliged them and cease to hate those who have injured them. The necessity of revenging an injury or recompensing a benefit seems a slavery to which they are unwilling to submit.

And this obviously comes at least partially from his experience in the Fronde and the betrayal he experienced from Anne of Austria. Amy Martine, another biographer, writes of this maxim, La Rochefoucauld is content to paint the age in which he lived. Here, the clemency spoken of is nothing more than an expression of the policy of Anne of Austria.

And this obviously comes at least partially from his experience in the Fronde and the betrayal he experienced from Anne of Austria. Amy Martine, another biographer, writes of this maxim, La Rochefoucauld is content to paint the age in which he lived. Here, the clemency spoken of is nothing more than an expression of the policy of Anne of Austria.

Rochefoucauld had sacrificed all to her, even the favor of Cardinal Richelieu. But when she became regent, she bestowed her favors upon those she hated. Her friends were forgotten. And look, you can understand why he would feel that way. And there is a lot of that cynicism that you can just tell he has a bad taste in his mouth from these experiences.

Rochefoucauld had sacrificed all to her, even the favor of Cardinal Richelieu. But when she became regent, she bestowed her favors upon those she hated. Her friends were forgotten. And look, you can understand why he would feel that way. And there is a lot of that cynicism that you can just tell he has a bad taste in his mouth from these experiences.

It does honestly get tiresome, like maxim after maxim. You can't trust people. They're actually just serving their self-interest. They don't care about the virtues that they claim to espouse. They don't care about you. They only care about themselves. However, the maxims are worth working through because I think out of it emerges some really interesting thoughts.

It does honestly get tiresome, like maxim after maxim. You can't trust people. They're actually just serving their self-interest. They don't care about the virtues that they claim to espouse. They don't care about you. They only care about themselves. However, the maxims are worth working through because I think out of it emerges some really interesting thoughts.

So much of like what we consider high-minded virtue and idealism is dragged through the mud, but interesting things come out on the other side. So what people call friendship is mostly just the expectation of some future benefit, right? What people call love is mostly just a match of convenience to advance their station. What people call virtue is mostly just self-flattery driven by weakness.

So much of like what we consider high-minded virtue and idealism is dragged through the mud, but interesting things come out on the other side. So what people call friendship is mostly just the expectation of some future benefit, right? What people call love is mostly just a match of convenience to advance their station. What people call virtue is mostly just self-flattery driven by weakness.

However, like by removing the veneer of fake friendship, fake love, fake virtue, what you get at is the real, true, beautiful, pure thing. So for example, he writes of friends, of friendship, most friends sicken us of friendship, most devotees of devotion. Okay. That's incredibly harsh. Most friends sicken us of friendship.