“Loyalty is in most people only a ruse used by self-interest to attract confidences.” — La Rochefoucauld
(What a bizarre thing for a 17th Century moralist to say about loyalty! I’ve always considered loyalty a great virtue. Maybe, he had grown a little jaded? Maybe, the quote has lost a little something in translation??? Be well and do good, friends.) — YUR
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Unclerave's Wordy Weblog 
Unc,
I think La Rochefoucauld is saying there is no genuine/selfless loyalty; rather, it’s only a pretense used for self-interest.
Notice the toadies The Donald surrounds himself with; they all want something, and they are afraid if they are not in his lap at the right time they’ll miss out.
And, he knows it. He leaves a trail of corruption dripping behind him everywhere he goes ?
Notice how a devout born-again Christian like Mike Pence would sign-on to be vice president with a man whose corruption is well-known. Either the seduction of high office was worth the risk or maybe he thought God would protect him.
If we were there in that circle, we may have been the same; greed is very seductive. No one is safe.
La Rochefoucauld was definitely cynical, UR, but in a gentle, amused way. Everything people did, in his view, was to promote their own self-interest.
Very astute, my friend lwc! — YUR
A little sad, hal. I’ve been a loyal Mets and Bills fan for as long as I can remember, without reward. At least the tables are finally seeming to turn for my Bills! — YUR
Hal wrote: “La Rochefoucauld was definitely cynical…, but… Everything people did…was to promote their own self-interest.”
I think that’s probably true most of the time, but we can agree that occasionally there are exceptions.
Sometimes we trade favors, while other times we give them away with no reciprocations expected..
Unc wrote: “…the tables are finally seeming to turn for my Bills!”
Don’t get your hopes up , Unc !
And, here’s some advice, “Keep your money in your pocket !” 😦
La Rochefoucauld could undo every virtue.
Bit of a rogue? — YUR
La Rochefoucauld was certain everyone acted of self-interest. But somehow he was a good gentleman. Louis XIV took power away from “princes of the blood” and worked with bourgeois. Louis XIV was a victim of the Fronde: aristocrats who could play no role under an absolute mornarchy.
Very interesting, Micheline! — YUR