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
book reflection given
What one knows best is ... what one has learned not from books but as a result of books, through the reflections to which they have given rise.
women heart reflection
Men's hearts and faces are always wide asunder; women's are not only in close connection, but are mirror-like in the instant power of reflection.
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.
men may literature
Man may aspire to virtue, but he cannot reasonably aspire to truth.
vanity littles sells
The great always sell their society to the vanity of the little.