Nicolas ChamfortFrench author |
Living is a sickness to which sleep provides relief every sixteen hours. It`s a palliative. The remedy is death.
Nearly all men are slaves for the same reason that the Spartans assigned for the servitude of the Persians - lack of power to pronounce the syllable, No. To be able to utter that word and live alone, are the only two means to preserve one`s freedom and one`s character.
There are some parts of the soul which we must entirely paralyze before we can live happily in this world.
Having lots of ideas doesn`t mean you`re clever, any more than having lots of soldiers means you`re a good general.
It is safe to wager that every public idea and every accepted convention is sheer foolishness, because it has suited the majority.