The best philosophical attitude to adopt towards the world is a union of the sarcasm of gaiety with the indulgence of contempt.
Nicolas ChamfortA man should swallow a toad every morning to be sure of not meeting with anything more revolting in the day ahead.
Nicolas ChamfortAn economist is a surgeon with an excellent scalpel and a rough-edged lancet, who operates beautifully on the dead and tortures the living.
Nicolas ChamfortIt 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.
Nicolas ChamfortHope is but a charlatan that ceases not to deceive us. For myself happiness only began when I had lost it.
Nicolas ChamfortEducation 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.
Nicolas Chamfort