SOURCE: Norman, Buford. “Knowledge, Meaning and Style in Variants of La Rochefoucauld's Maximes.” Papers on French Seventeenth Century Literature 8, no. 14 (1981): 19-31.

In the following essay, Norman discusses La Rochefoucauld's treatment of knowledge, meaning, action, and motivation in the Maximes.

Knowledge—its nature, its limitations, its acquisition, its applications—is not only one of the most important topics in La Rochefoucauld's Maximes; it is also a concern which underlies the entire work. The Maximes, through their content and through their form, are constantly seeking after knowledge of man while at the same time raising questions about how man attains knowledge.

The major problem is the same one which Pascal faced while dealing with man, with subjects which fall within the “esprit de finesse”: “Pour bien savoir les choses, if faut savoir le détail; et comme il est presque infini, nos connaissances sont toujours superficielles et imparfaites.”¹ This applies...