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
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.
history horror sequence
Almost the whole of history is but a sequence of horrors.
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.
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.
education self two
Education must have two foundations --morality as a support for virtue, prudence as a defense for self against the vices of others. By letting the balance incline to the side of morality, you only make dupes or martyrs; by letting it incline to the other, you make calculating egoists.
absurdity subjects
In love, everything is true, everything is false; it is the one subject on which one cannot express an absurdity.
passion men reason
Men of reason have endured;men of passion have lived.
weakness
We justly consider women to be weaker than ourselves, and yet we are governed by them.
perfect demand littles
If a woman were about to proceed to her execution, she would demand a little time to perfect her toilet.
world excitement crave
Women of the world crave excitement.