Francois de la rochefoucauld biography sample
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François became a loyal knight to Queen Anne of Austria and developed close relationships with Mademoiselle d'Ô and the famous Duchess de Chevreuse.
In 1635, François joined the army and fought against the Spanish in Flanders. However, he was allowed to stay at court due to his status as the Prince of Marcillac.
During his time in Paris, François frequented Madame de Rambouillet's salon, known as the "Blue Room," where influential politicians, writers, poets, and aristocrats gathered.
François, along with other Fronde leaders, was labeled a traitor.
Previous editions were superseded by that of Jean Désiré Louis Gilbert and Jules Gourdault (1868-1883), in the series Grands Ecrivains de la France, 3 vols. Disillusioned by the lack of royal favor, he became disillusioned and developed a cynical view of human nature.
Nearly all the great French critics of the nineteenth century have dealt more or less with La Rochefoucauld: the chief recent monograph on him is that of Jean Bourdeau in the Grands Ecrivains français (1893). But the growing reputation of Mazarin impeded his ambition, and his 1645 liaison with the beautiful Anne Genevieve of Bourbon-Condé, duchess of Longueville made him irrevocably a Frondeur.
Then he met Marie de Rohan-Montbazon, duchesse de Chevreuse, the first of three celebrated women who influenced his life. He continued to support Prince de Condé's military campaigns and remained loyal to their cause. For some years he retired to his country seat of Verteuil, with little to show for 20 years of fighting and intrigue except his impaired health, a seriously diminished fortune, and just cause for bearing a grudge against almost every party and man of importance in the state.
The gently cynical view of life contained in his Maximes did not impede his enjoyment of company. He had a circle of devoted friends; he was recognized as a moralist and man of letters of the first rank; and his son, the prince de Marcillac, to whom some time before his death he resigned his titles and honors, enjoyed a considerable position at court.
However, he also became involved in court politics, where he learned that power and ambition could be dangerous.
In his 20s and 30s, La Rochefoucauld was deeply involved in the Fronde Rebellions (1648-1653), a period of civil wars in France. After Richelieu's death in 1642, the ambition of the French nobility to fill the power vacuum was stoked.
Oxford University Press, 1969.
La Rochefoucauld's character, like almost all his contemporaries, was generally agreeable but somewhat cynical. But there is no ground whatever for the view which represents the Maximes as the mere outcome of the spite of a disappointed intriguer, disappointed through his own want of skill rather than of fortune.
Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. From a young age, he was taught the values of honor, duty, and courtly behavior.
As a teenager, he trained as a soldier and joined the French army.
They are packed full of meaning but without undue compression. He was friends with other great thinkers of his time, like Madame de Sévigné and Jean de La Fontaine.
He passed away on March 17, 1680, leaving behind a legacy as one of France’s greatest moralists and philosophers.
François de La Rochefoucauld is remembered for:
✅ His book "Maxims," which remains famous today.
✅ His sharp and witty observations on human nature.
✅ His role in the Fronde Rebellions and court politics.
✅ Helping shape French literature and philosophy.
Even today, people quote his maxims, proving that his ideas about human nature and society are still relevant.
Why do you think La Rochefoucauld’s maxims are still popular today?
Do you agree with his idea that people are often selfish?
Born to François V, the Count of La Rochefoucauld, and Gabrielle du Plessis-Liancourt, he spent his childhood in the estate of Verteuil in Angoulême.
Salon participation
Somewhat earlier, La Rochefoucauld had taken his place in the salon of Madame de Sablé, a member of the old Rambouillet côterie, and the founder of a kind of successor to it, whose special literary employment was the fabrication of "Sentences" and "Maximes." In 1662, the surreptitious publication of his purported memoirs by the Elseviers brought him more than a little trouble.