We rarely find people sensible unless they agree with us.

[Nous ne trouvons guère de gens de bon sens, que ceux qui sont de notre avis.]

François VI, duc de La Rochefoucauld (1613–1680) French epigrammatist, memoirist, noble
Réflexions ou sentences et maximes morales [Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims], ¶347 (1665–1678) [tr. Stevens (1939)]
    (Source)

First included in the 4th (1675) edition. In manuscript, it read: "Nous ne sommes du même avis qu’avec les gens qui sont du nôtre."

(Source (French)). Other translations:

We seldom allow any Men to have good Sense, who are not of our own Opinion.
[tr. Stanhope (1706 ed.), ¶761]

We think very few people sensible except those who are of our opinion.
[ed. Gowens (1851), ¶357]

We hardly find any persons of good sense, save those who agree with us.
[tr. Bund/Friswell (1871), ¶347]

We rarely consider anyone sensible unless he agrees with our ideas.
[tr. Heard (1917), ¶354]

A man of good sense is almost always one who shares our views.
[tr. FitzGibbon (1957), ¶347]

Unless they share our opinions, we seldom find people sensible.
[tr. Kronenberger (1959), ¶347]

There are few sensible people, we find, except those who share our opinion.
[tr. Tancock (1959), ¶347]

We find very few sensible people who are not of our own opinion.
[tr. Whichello (2016), ¶347]

We find few people possessed of good sense unless they agree with our own opinions.
[tr. Chandler, ¶347]

We rarely find that people have good sense unless they agree with us.
[Bartlett's, ¶347]


 
Added on 1-Feb-04 | Last updated 23-Oct-26
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