Chamfort
Chamfort
Sébastien-Roch Nicolas, also known as Chamfort, was a French writer, best known for his witty epigrams and aphorisms. He was secretary to Louis XVI's sister, and of the Jacobin club...
slander
Slander is the balm of malignity.
self imperfection deny
Though we best know and cannot deny our imperfections, it is not for us to lose our self-reliance and true manhood.
life sleep sixteen
Life is a malady in which sleep soothes us every sixteen hours; it is a palliation; death is the remedy.
knowledge capacity humans
Knowledge is boundless,--human capacity, limited.
victory way spurs
Anticipation leads the way to victory, and is the spur to conquest.
perfection faults rivalry
Women see faults much more readily in each other than they can discover perfections.
novelty
Change, change,--we all covet change.
sweet medicine why-not
We gild our medicines with sweets; why not clothe truth and morals in peasant garments as well?
names long way
To possess a good cognomen is a long way on the road of success in life.
indifference command
She commands who is blest with indifference.
ignorance gossip may
It is among uneducated women that we may look for the most confirmed gossips. Goethe tells us there is nothing more frightful than bustling ignorance.
passion men lasts
His passions make man live, his wisdom merely makes him last.
nature kindness men
A man without nobility cannot have kindliness; he can only have good nature.
honor selfishness feeding
Covetousness is a sort of mental gluttony, not confined to money, but craving honor, and feeding on selfishness.