Francois de La Rochefoucauld Quotes

Every man without passions has within him no principle of action, nor motive to act.

All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsions, habit, reason, passion, desire.

We do not wish ardently for what we desire only through reason.

We never desire strongly, what we desire rationally.

Longing and desire goes further than instant satisfaction. That's human nature.

Science never makes things that do not have to do with what we feel, by which I mean what we want and what we fear.

Nothing is more fallacious than to expect to produce any valuable or permanent results in political projects by relying merely on the reason of men. Men are ... for the most part governed by the impulses of passion.

Lust is the source of all our actions, and humanity.

The desire of perfection became the ruling passion of their soul; and it is well known, that while reason embraces a cold mediocrity, our passions hurry us, with rapid violence, over the space which lies between the most opposite extremes.

Man is a mixture of desires that extend beyond his knowledge and often result in action conflicting with rationality.

A burning desire is the greatest motivator of every human action.

Sexual attraction keeps throwing self-interest off course.

I am going to tell you a secret. Everything is about wanting. Everything. Things happen because of people wanting. Watch closely, and you’ll see what I mean.

Desire is the great equalizer.

A man often thinks he rules himself, when all the while he is ruled and managed; and while his understanding directs one design, his affections imperceptibly draw him into another.

You know what makes your heart swift, you know what makes your breath catch your throat, you know what makes your chest tight with anticipation. Go get that!

No passion is stronger in the breast of man than the desire to make others believe as he believes

The greatest efforts of the race have always been traceable to the love of praise, as the greatest catastrophes to the love of pleasure.

But it is not reason that governs love.

Lust sullies every age of man, but quite extinguishes old age.

Jupiter, not wanting man's life to be wholly gloomy and grim, has bestowed far more passion than reason --you could reckon the ration as twenty-four to one. Moreover, he confined reason to a cramped corner of the head and left all the rest of the body to the passions.

The ego wants to want more than it wants to have.

We have lost confidence in reason because we have learned that man is chiefly a creature of habit and emotion.

As fast as I can tell there are only two emotions that keep the world spinning year after year...One is fear. The other is desire.

If I had to choose my driving force, it would be passion.