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We need to be just before we are generous, as we need shirts before ruffles.

Nicolas Chamfort

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Nicolas Chamfort
Age: 53 †
Born: 1741
Born: April 6
Died: 1794
Died: April 13
Journalist
Philosopher
Playwright
Poet
Politician
Writer
Clarmont-Ferrand
Needs
Ruffles
Shirts
Generosity
Generous
Need

More quotes by Nicolas Chamfort

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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.
Nicolas Chamfort
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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.
Nicolas Chamfort
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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.
Nicolas Chamfort
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Every woman in choosing a lover takes more account of the way in which other women regard the man than of her own.
Nicolas Chamfort
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Be my brother or I will kill you.
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The threat of a neglected cold is for doctors what the threat of purgatory is for priests-a gold mine.
Nicolas Chamfort
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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.
Nicolas Chamfort
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Knowledge is boundless,--human capacity, limited.
Nicolas Chamfort
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A man without nobility cannot have kindliness he can only have good nature.
Nicolas Chamfort
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Vivre est un maladie dont le sommeil nous soulage toutes les 16 heures. C'est un pallatif. La mort est le remede.
Nicolas Chamfort
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Remorse turns us against ourselves.
Nicolas Chamfort
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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.
Nicolas Chamfort
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There are two things that one must get used to or one will find life unendurable: the damages of time and injustices of men.
Nicolas Chamfort
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Love is more pleasant than marriage for the same reason that novels are more amusing than history.
Nicolas Chamfort
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Wrinkles and ill-nature together made a woman hideous.
Nicolas Chamfort
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Intelligent people make many mistakes because they cannot believe the world is really as foolish as it is.
Nicolas Chamfort
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In great matters, men behave as they are expected to in little ones, as they would naturally
Nicolas Chamfort
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It's a question of prudence. Nobody has a high opinion of fishwives but who would dare offend them while walking through the fish market.
Nicolas Chamfort
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[Prudence] replaces [strength] by saving the man who has the misfortune of not possessing it from most occasions when it's needed.
Nicolas Chamfort
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Pleasure can be supported by an illusion but happiness rests upon truth.
Nicolas Chamfort