Note 664 — XII. OF OPINIONS.
Henri Van Laun translation
La Bruyère says in a note: “This is an opinion opposed to a well-known Latin maxim.” Erasmus, in his Adagiorum Chiliades, gives the Latinised proverb, Filii heroum noxæ, “the sons of heroes degenerate,” and our author alludes to this. As for the “divine qualities,” see page 51, § 33.