Nicolas Chamfort
Nicolas 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...
NationalityFrench
ProfessionWriter
Date of Birth6 April 1741
CountryFrance
flames smoke
Marriage follows on love as smoke on flame.
cities benefactors citadels
Most benefactors are like unskillful generals who take the city and leave the citadel intact.
heart people littles
People are governed by the head; a kind heart is of little value in chess.
giving morality injury
To enjoy and give enjoyment, without injury to yourself or others; this is true morality.
spices courtship discord
A modicum of discord is the very spice of courtship.
running house should
Running a house should be left to innkeepers.
understanding scratches said
We must start human society from scratch; as Francis Bacon said, we must recreate human understanding.
ideas numbers mediocrity
A good number of works owe their success to the mediocrity of their authors' ideas, which match the mediocrity of those of the general public.
success making-money
Success makes success, like money makes money.
lonely hate loneliness
It is said of a lonely man that he does not appreciate the life of society. This is like saying he hates hiking because he dislikes walking in thick forest on a dark night.
world excitement crave
Women of the world crave excitement.
passion men reason
Men of reason have endured;men of passion have lived.
history horror sequence
Almost the whole of history is but a sequence of horrors.
economics excellent scalpels
An economist is a surgeon with an excellent scalpel and a rough-edged lancet, who operates beautifully on the dead and tortures the living.