La Rochefoucauld §laroch_320: To praise princes for virtues they do not possess is but to reproach them wit...
Source: François de La Rochefoucauld, Maxims (1665) (laroch_320) · external_aligned
To praise princes for virtues they do not possess is but to reproach them with impunity. ["Praise undeserved is satire in disguise," quoted by Pope from a poem which has not survived, "The Garland," by Mr. Broadhurst. "In some cases exaggerated or inappropriate praise becomes the most severe satire."-- Scott, Woodstock.]
Witnesses (Deuteronomy 19:15)
- manuscript_tradition: First edition, Paris 1665 — Barbin imprint
- critical_edition: Pleiade edition — Truchet (Gallimard, 1964)
- translation: Tancock translation (Penguin Classics, 1959)
- republication: Project Gutenberg — Maxims
- republication: Internet Archive — multiple editions