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
friendship names air
He who disguises tyranny, protection, or even benefits under the air and name of friendship reminds me of the guilty priest who poisoned the sacramental bread.
deceiving lost charlatans
Hope is but a charlatan that ceases not to deceive us. For myself happiness only began when I had lost it.
mind together narrow-minds
Narrow waists and narrow minds go together.
vanity tongue egotism
Egotism is the tongue of vanity.
art disease satire
Satire is the disease of art.
temptation armor obscurity
Obscurity and Innocence, twin sisters, escape temptations which would pierce their gossamer armor, in contact with the world.
europe poor
The poor are the blacks of Europe.
calumny-is worry trying
Calumny is like the wasp which worries you, and which it is not best to try to get rid of unless you are sure of slaying it; for otherwise it returns to the charge more furious than ever.
sunset self possession
The sunset glow of self-possession.
men sight laughing
At the sight of what goes on in the world, the most misanthropic of men must end by being amused, and Heraclitus must die laughing.
absurdity subjects
In love, everything is true, everything is false; it is the one subject on which one cannot express an absurdity.
women shadow like-you
A woman is like your shadow; follow her, she flies; fly from her, she follows.
winning men play
Men whose only concern is other people's opinion of them are like actors who put on a poor performance to win the applause of people of poor taste; some of them would be capable of good acting in front of a good audience. A decent man plays his part to the best of his ability, regardless of the taste of the gallery.
men saving he-man
[Prudence] replaces [strength] by saving the man who has the misfortune of not possessing it from most occasions when it's needed.