François, duc de La Rochefoucauld's reputation rests squarely on a single work, known as the Maximes (Maxims, 1664-1678), first published in 1664 as Sentences et maximes de morale (Thoughts and Maxims on Morality) and then as Réflexions ou sentences et maximes morales (Reflections or Thoughts and Moral Maxims, 1665; revised, 1666; 1671; 1675; 1678), one of the greatest masterpieces of French literature and a key document of early modern intellectual history. In a series of aphorisms, this work proclaimed with unprecedented focus the overwhelming role played by self-interest in human conduct and showed how realization of this human characteristic brought traditional conceptions of virtues and vices into question. It was a model of the understated acuity and deceptive simplicity that marked the best French classical prose and accordingly set a standard for the writing of maxims for centuries to come. This stylistic tour de force was paralleled by the landmark...