Nicolas Chamfort

“He who leaves the game wins it.”

“In a country where everyone is trying to be noticed, it is better to be bankrupt than to be nothing.”

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

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

“On n'est point un homme d'esprit pour avoir beaucoup d'idées, comme on n'est pas un bon général pour avoir beaucoup de soldats.”

“La plus perdue de toutes les journées est celle où l'on n'a pas ri.”

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

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

“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.”

“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.”

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

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

“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?”

“The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.”

“A day without laughter is a day wasted.”