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This is no time to be getting all steamed up about La Rochefoucauld. It's only a question of minutes before I'm going to be pretty darned good and sick of La Rochefoucauld, once and for all. La Rochefoucauld this and La Rochefoucauld that. Yes, well, let me tell you that if nobody had ever learned to quote, very few people would be in love with La Rochefoucauld. I bet you I don't know ten souls who read him without a middleman.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld#119

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About this quote

What does it mean?
The speaker is tired of reading Rochefoucauld and notes that many only know him through quotes.
In plain terms
I am sick of Rochefoucauld, and few read him directly.
What can you take from it?
Second-hand exposure can distort how you know a writer.

Where it applies

  • book clubs
  • academic courses
  • casual browsing

Putting it to work

  • read original texts
  • limit quote reliance
  • rotate reading subjects

Questions to consider

  • Do you prefer quotes or full texts?
  • When did you last read a whole book?

Another view

Quoting can make ideas accessible even if direct reading is rare.

More from Francois de La Rochefoucauld

  1. Why can we remember the tiniest detail that has happened to us, and not remember how many times we have told it to the same person.

    Permalink to quote #118

  2. Il n'est jamais plus difficile de bien parler que quand on a honte de se taire.

    Permalink to quote #117

  3. Il faut tenir a une resolution parce qu'elle est bonne, et non parce qu'on l'a prise.

    Permalink to quote #116

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