Falsehood Disguised: Unmasking the Truth in La Rochefoucauld

Title Page, Copyright, Dedication, Quotes

FALSEHOOD. DISGUISED Unmasking the Truth in La Rochefoucauld Richard G. Hodgson Purdue University Press - West Lafayette, Indiana Copyright ©1995 by Purdue Research Foundation. All rights reserved. 04 03 02 01 00 First paperbound printing, January 2000 5 4 3 2~ 1 The paper used in this book meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI.Z39.48-1992. Printed in the United States of America Design by Anita Noble .Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Hodgson, Richard G., 1950Falsehood disguised: unmasking the truth in La Rochefoucauld I Richard G. Hodgson. p. cm. -(Purdue studies in Romance literatures; v. 7) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-55753-063-7 (alk. paper) 1. La Rochefoucauld, Fran~ois, duc de, 1613-1680. Maximes. 2. Truthfulness and falsehood in literature. 3. Maxims, FrenchHistory and criticism. 4. Truth in literature. I. Title. II. Series. PQ1815H63 1995 848'.402-dc20 94-38421 CIP ISBN 1-55753-218-4 (pbk. : alk. paper) For Debbie Il Y a des faussetes deguisees qui representent si bien la verite que ce serait mal juger que de ne .s'y pas laisser tromper. La Rochefoucauld, Maxime 282t ....ies Maximes sont a·la longue comme un" cauchemar de verite. Roland Barthes, Nouveaux essais"critiques* t There are disguised falsehoods which imitate the truth so well that it would be poor judgment not to let them deceive us. *...in the final arialysis. the Maximes are like a nightmare of truth. ...