Quotes from Nicolas Chamfort

Nature never said to me: Do not be poor; still less did she say: Be rich; her cry to me was always: Be independent.

Paris, a city of gaieties and pleasures, where four-fifths of the inhabitants die of grief. -- About Paris

People are governed with the head; kindness of heart is little use in chess.

There are well-dressed foolish ideas, just as there are will-dressed fools.

If it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it's your job to eat two frogs, it's best to eat the biggest one first.

Happiness is not easy to find. It's very difficult to find it in yourself — and impossible to find anywhere else.

Whoever is not a misanthrope at forty can never have loved mankind.

There are more people who wish to be loved than there are who are willing to love.

In order not to find life unbearable, you must accept two things: the ravages of time and the injustices of man.

And so I leave this world, where the heart must either break or turn to lead. [last words]

Every day I add to the list of things I refuse to discuss. The wiser the man, the longer the list.

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.

Public opinion reigns in society because stupidity reigns amongst the stupid.

Living is a sickness to which sleep provides relief every sixteen hours. It's a palliative. The remedy is death.

Don't you know that we must always have a place where we never go but where we think we'd be happy if we did?

He who leaves the game wins it.

It is passion that makes man live; wisdom makes one only last.

Most books today seemed to have been written overnight from books read the day before.

It is commonly supposed that the art of pleasing is a wonderful aid in the pursuit of fortune; but the art of being bored is infinitely more successful.

Having lots of ideas doesn't mean you're clever, any more than having lots of soldiers means you're a good general.

We ought to be able to combine opposites: the love of goodness with indifference to other people's opinions, a liking for work with indifference to fame, concern for our health with indifference to life.

Paris, a city of gaieties and pleasures, where four-fifths of the inhabitants die of grief.

There are well-dressed foolish ideas just as there are well-dressed fools

Some things are easier to legalize than to legitimate.