Luc de Clapiers
Luc de Clapiers
Luc de Clapiers, marquis de Vauvenargueswas a minor French writer, a moralist. He died at age 31, in broken health, having published the year prior—anonymously—a collection of essays and aphorisms with the encouragement of Voltaire, his friend. He first received public notice under his own name in 1797, and from 1857 on, his aphorisms became popular. In the history of French literature, his significance lies chiefly in his friendship with Voltaire...
NationalityFrench
ProfessionWriter
Date of Birth6 August 1715
CountryFrance
The idle always have a mind to do something.
The law cannot equalize mankind in spite of nature.
Ignorance is not lack of intelligence, nor knowledge a proof of genius.
Children are taught to fear and obey; the avarice, pride, or timidity of parents teaches children economy, arrogance, or submission. They are also encouraged to be imitators, a course to which they are already only too much inclined. No one thinks of making them original, courageous, independent.
Prosperity makes few friends.
Despair exaggerates not only our misery but also our weakness.
The wicked are always surprised to find that the good can be clever.
Men despise great projects when they do not feel themselves capable of great successes.
Few people are modest enough to be estimated at their true worth.
The conscience of the dying belies their life.
Great men undertake great things because they are great; fools, because they think them easy.
Most people grow old within a small circle of ideas, which they have not discovered for themselves. There are perhaps less wrong-minded people than thoughtless.
The greatest achievement of the human spirit is to live up to one's opportunities and make the most of one's resources.
The common excuse for those bringing misfortune on others is that they desire their good.