Today, a listening comprehension from the witty philosopher and moralist Jean de La Bruyère. In English, the term “moralist” usually evokes “a person who teaches or promotes morality.” This meaning exists in the French word “moraliste” too, however it also designates an author who writes about society’s customs and manners. It makes sense since “moraliste” comes from the Latin word “mos, moris,” which contains the meaning “customs.” This was a popular literary genre in the 17th century in France, where authors including La Rochefoucauld and Bruyère wrote satirical maxims depicting social conducts of their times. They often wrote about love too, and not always in a happy way, as you can notice below.
« L’ on n’est pas plus maître de toujours aimer qu’on l’a été de ne pas aimer. »
« Les amours meurent par le dégoût, et l’oubli les enterre. »
Jean de La Bruyère Les caractères (1688)
Commentary: In the first maxim, you may wonder what is “l’on.” French students usually learn the impersonal pronoun “on” which means “people, one” and is also used instead of the pronoun “we” in conversations. “L’on” is a combination of the article “le” and the pronoun “on” and is just a formal version of “on.” In that case, it has only the impersonal meaning “people” or “one.” Etymologically, “on” comes from the Latin “homo” (= “man, people”), so it is like saying “l’homme“which can explain the adding of the article.