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
misanthrope mankind forty
Whoever is not a misanthrope at forty can never have loved mankind.
laughter healthy trying
If taking vitamins doesn't keep you healthy enough, try more laughter: The most wasted of all days is that on which one has not laughed.
belief conviction intellect
Conviction is the conscience of intellect.
art fine wells
In the fine arts, as in many other things, we know well only what we have not learned.
attitude philosophical sarcasm
The best philosophical attitude to adopt towards the world is a union of the sarcasm of gaiety with the indulgence of contempt.
perfect demand littles
If a woman were about to proceed to her execution, she would demand a little time to perfect her toilet.
love-is epidemics disease
Love is like epidemic diseases. The more one fears it the more likely one is to contract it.
people contempt contemptuous
Contemptuous people are sure to be contemptible.
writing expression obscure
Spero Speroni explains admirably how an author who writes very clearly for himself is often obscure to his readers. "It is," he says, "because the author proceeds from the thought to the expression, and the reader from the expression to the thought.
men lists add
Every day I add to the list of things I refuse to discuss. The wiser the man, the longer the list.
winning games
He who leaves the game wins it.
oysters firsts eating
Most anthologists of poetry or quotations are like those who eat cherries or oysters, first picking the best and ending by eating everything.
passion exaggeration-is exaggeration
All passions exaggerate; and they are passions only because they do exaggerate.
freedom knowledge men
Only the history of free peoples is worth our attention; the history of men under a despotism is merely a collection of anecdotes.