Ben Wilson

But it is a fact that the desolating and cruel wars of the Fronde largely depended upon jealousies of the Keres and Tabaret, while Rochefoucauld's support of the rebellion, frankly and openly, was based upon it. So look, I think two things can be true at once. On the one hand, these changes were symbolic of power dynamics at court and a changing world order. And at the same time...

But it is a fact that the desolating and cruel wars of the Fronde largely depended upon jealousies of the Keres and Tabaret, while Rochefoucauld's support of the rebellion, frankly and openly, was based upon it. So look, I think two things can be true at once. On the one hand, these changes were symbolic of power dynamics at court and a changing world order. And at the same time...

Francois de la Rochefoucauld was extremely proud and vain and was willing to fight and kill and die and burn the world down for the privilege of being able to enter the palace without having to leave his coach and for the right of his girl to be able to sit with the members of the royal family. he is essentially a gangster.

Francois de la Rochefoucauld was extremely proud and vain and was willing to fight and kill and die and burn the world down for the privilege of being able to enter the palace without having to leave his coach and for the right of his girl to be able to sit with the members of the royal family. he is essentially a gangster.

Like, he's a gangster, albeit a very well-cultured and extremely well-mannered gangster, which is part of what makes his next act so interesting. So the frond has bankrupted him. He's poured a lot of money into this rebellion, which ultimately fails.

Like, he's a gangster, albeit a very well-cultured and extremely well-mannered gangster, which is part of what makes his next act so interesting. So the frond has bankrupted him. He's poured a lot of money into this rebellion, which ultimately fails.

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.

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.