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
names vanity giving
Vain is equivalent to empty; thus vanity is so miserable a thing, that one cannot give it a worse name than its own. It proclaims itself for what it is.
names long way
To possess a good cognomen is a long way on the road of success in life.
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.
names doubt chance
Someone described Providence as the baptismal name of chance; no doubt some pious person will retort that chance is the nickname of Providence.
french-writer laughed surely
Of all days, the day on which one has not laughed is the one most surely wasted.
failure intelligent energy
A person of intellect without energy added to it, is a failure.
death sleep literature
Living is a sickness to which sleep provides relief every sixteen hours. It's a palliative. The remedy is death.
foolish fools-and-foolishness
There are well-dressed foolish ideas, just as there are will-dressed fools.
appetite composed dinners great society
Society is composed of two great classes those who have more dinners than appetite, and those who have more appetite than dinners.
certain french-writer opinion opinions public worst
There are certain times when public opinion is the worst of all opinions.
age man
Man arrives as a novice at each age of his life.
life oneself watch
The contemplative life is often miserable. One must act more, think less, and not watch oneself live.
days wasted
The most wasted of all days is that on which one has not laughed.
wasted
The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed.