636:
408:. But a second birth certificate gives him the name "Sébastien Roch" and says he was born on 22 June, of "unknown parents", and some scholars argue that he was not born but baptized on that day. Local tradition said that he was the love child of an aristocratic woman, Jacqueline de Montrodeix (née Cisternes de Vinzelles), and of a clergyman named Pierre Nicolas; and that he was then given for adoption to the grocer, who was a relative of the biological father.
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434:
657:
Unable to tolerate the prospect of being imprisoned once more, in
September 1793 he locked himself into his office and shot himself in the face. The pistol malfunctioned and he did not die even though he shot off his nose and his right eye. He then repeatedly stabbed his neck with a razor, but failed
537:
that proclaims the superiority of the dead over the living as companions. He fell in love with and married a lady attached to the household of the duchesse du Maine; she was 48 years old, clever, amusing, and a woman of the world. They soon moved to
Vaucouleurs, where she died within six months.
708:, among the most brilliant and suggestive sayings of the modern era. His aphorisms, less systematic and psychologically less important than those of La Rochefoucauld, are as significant in their violence and iconoclastic spirit of the period of storm and preparation that gave them birth as the
618:
his political life came to an end. But he could not restrain the tongue that had made him famous; he no more spared the
Convention than he had spared the court. His notorious republicanism failed to excuse the sarcasms he lavished on the new order of things. Fingered by an assistant in the
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in their exquisite restraint and elaborate subtlety are characteristic of the tranquil elegance of their epoch. Moreover, they have the advantage of richness of colour, picturesqueness of phrase, passion, and audacity.
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to cut an artery. He finally used the razor to stab himself in the chest and to cut his own hocks, aiming at the veins. He dictated to those who came to arrest him the well-known declaration
666:) which he signed in a firm hand. His butler found him unconscious in a pool of blood. From then until his death in Paris the following year, he suffered intensely and was attended to by a
627:. Soon after his release, he was threatened again with arrest, but he decided that death was preferable to a repetition of the moral and physical restraint to which he had been subjected.
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529:, made him his secretary. Disliking the constraints of court life, he became increasingly discontented, and after a year he resigned his post in the prince's household and retired to
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Until then, he lived from hand to mouth, mainly on the hospitality of people who gave him board and lodging in exchange for the pleasure of the conversation for which he was famous.
423:") He was a brilliant though dreamy student. When the principal of the college promised him a stipend, he replied that he could not accept because he preferred honour to honours: "
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movement, forgetting his old friends at court and devoting his small fortune to revolutionary propaganda. He became a street orator and was among the first to enter the
461:(La Jeune Indienne, 1764), following it with a series of epistles in verse, essays and odes. However, his literary reputation was not established until 1769, when the
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when the
Belgian minister in Paris, M. van Eyck, invited him to accompany him to Germany in 1761. On his return to Paris, Chamfort produced a successful comedy,
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688:(And so I leave this world, where the heart must either break or turn to lead.) Thus the maker of constitutions followed the dead wit to the grave.
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Moi, Sebastien-Roch
Nicolas de Chamfort, déclare avoir voulu mourir en homme libre plutôt que d'être reconduit en esclave dans une maison d'arrêt
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484:, brought him further notice, and he seemed on the road to fame and fortune, when illness struck. A generous friend gave him a pension of 1200
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664:"I, Sebastien-Roch Nicolas de Chamfort, hereby declare my wish to die a free man rather than to be brought (again) as a slave in a prison"
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Chamfort lived in
Holland for a time with M. de Narbonne, then returned to Paris where he was elected in 1781 to the Académie française.
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The writings of
Chamfort include comedies, political articles, literary criticisms, portraits, letters, and verses. His
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Oeuvres complètes de
Chamfort: recueillies et publiées avec une notice historique sur la vie et les écrits de l'auteur
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Ah ! mon ami, je m'en vais enfin de ce monde, où il faut que le cœur se brise ou se bronze
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In 1775, while taking the waters at Barges, he met the duchesse de
Grammont, sister of
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Bibliothèque
Nationale, to a share in the direction of which he had been appointed by
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There are two birth certificates for Chamfort. The first, from Saint-Genès parish in
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947:. Paris: Chez le directeur de l'Imprimerie des sciences et arts. 1794. p. LXII.
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compares them to well-minted coins that retain their value, and to keen arrows that
533:. There, comparing the authors of old with his contemporaries, he composed a famous
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931:. Paris: Chez le directeur de l'Imprimerie des sciences et arts. 1794. p. LXI.
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Ce que j'ai appris je ne le sais plus; le peu que je sais encore, je l'ai deviné.
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At the age of nine he was sent to Paris to study as a scholarship student at the
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reads: "What I learned I no longer know; the little I still know, I guessed" ("
32:
908:, Paris, 1895, ch. 1 : « Origine et éducation ». Julien Teppe,
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509:, through whose influence he was introduced at court. In 1776, his tragedy,
681:), and Sieyès was likewise the person to whom he told his famous sarcastic
721:. Although situated at the exact opposite of the political spectrum (see
572:
446:
401:
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372:; 6 April 1741 – 13 April 1794), was a French writer, best known for his
93:
1000:. Vol. 5 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 824.
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89:
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Products of the perfected civilization: selected writings of Chamfort
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entertained him at Sèvres for some years. In 1770, another comedy,
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
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Sébastien-Roch-Nicolas Chamfort (1824). Pierre-René Auguis (ed.).
859:
Sébastien-Roch-Nicolas Chamfort (1824). Pierre-René Auguis (ed.).
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when it was stormed. Until 3 August 1791 he was secretary of the
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are among those that easily compare in acidity and brilliance.
679:
Qu'est-ce que le Tiers-État ? Tout. Qu'a-t-il ? Rien
567:
profoundly changed Chamfort's life. He threw himself into the
1031:. Translator: Deke Dusinberre. University of Chicago Press.
770:
Sébastien-Roch-Nicolas Chamfort (1968). P. R. Auguis (ed.).
906:
Chamfort : étude sur vie, son caractère et ses écrits
502:
which won the prize of the Academy of Marseilles in 1774.
415:. He worked hard, although one of his most contemptuous
677:
Chamfort had given fortune in the title of a pamphlet (
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Oeuvres complètes de Chamfort, de l'académie française
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Oeuvres complètes de Chamfort, de l'académie française
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Oeuvres complètes de Chamfort, de l'académie française
85:
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61:
39:
23:
1024:
430:Upon graduation he assumed the name of Chamfort.
747:La Jeune Indienne: Comédie en Un Acte Et en Vers
832:. Vol. 4. Imprimerie des sciences et arts.
821:. Vol. 3. Imprimerie des sciences et arts.
810:. Vol. 2. Imprimerie des sciences et arts.
799:. Vol. 1. Imprimerie des sciences et arts.
1313:18th-century French dramatists and playwrights
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8:
552:, he became secretary to the king's sister,
441:For some time he subsisted by teaching and
1156:Jean-Baptiste de La Curne de Sainte-Palaye
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912:, P. Clairac, 1950, p. 23. Claude Arnaud,
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848:Sébastien-Roch-Nicolas Chamfort (1812).
837:Sébastien-Roch-Nicolas Chamfort (1812).
826:Sébastien-Roch-Nicolas Chamfort (1794).
815:Sébastien-Roch-Nicolas Chamfort (1794).
804:Sébastien-Roch-Nicolas Chamfort (1794).
793:Sébastien-Roch-Nicolas Chamfort (1794).
780:Sébastien-Roch-Nicolas Chamfort (1969).
897:
776:(original edition Auguis, 1824, 5 vol.)
766:By Pierre Louis GINGUENE, 1795, 4 vols.
719:arrivent brusquement et sifflent encore
610:, he became critical of uncompromising
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1343:Suicides by sharp instrument in France
910:Chamfort, sa vie, son œuvre, sa pensée
541:He was a member of the Masonic lodge
367:
7:
854:. Vol. 2 (3 ed.). Maradan.
843:. Vol. 1 (3 ed.). Maradan.
425:J'aime l'honneur et non-les honneurs
749:. Princeton University Press. 1945.
1056:Works by or about Nicolas Chamfort
548:In 1784, through the influence of
14:
1318:Members of the Académie Française
1164:Sébastien-Roch-Nicolas (Chamfort)
738:Praise of Molière, crowned (1769)
1298:18th-century French male writers
992:Chamfort, Sebastien Roch Nicolas
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870:Pierre-René Auguis, ed. (1824).
1308:18th-century French journalists
1116:François le Métel de Boisrobert
876:. Vol. 4. Chaumerot Jeune.
865:. Vol. 1. Chaumerot Jeune.
756:Mustapha and Zéangir, tragedy.
753:The Merchant of Smythe, comedy
670:, whom he paid a crown a day.
1:
1338:Suicides by firearm in France
1293:Writers from Clermont-Ferrand
1188:Philippe Paul, comte de Ségur
1140:Philippe Néricault Destouches
1018:. Casa Editrice Rinascimento.
873:Oeuvres complètes de Chamfort
772:Oeuvres complètes de Chamfort
741:The Fountain of Praise (1774)
361:Sébastien Nicolas de Chamfort
355:, known in his adult life as
1204:Edmond Jurien de La Gravière
1065:frenchphilosophes.weebly.com
465:awarded him a prize for his
1180:Pierre-Marc-Gaston de Lévis
944:Oeuvres de Chamfort, tome I
928:Oeuvres de Chamfort, tome I
914:Chamfort : A Biography
614:, and with the fall of the
597:Addresse au peuple français
1359:
1132:Jean Galbert de Campistron
437:A younger Nicolas Chamfort
1303:18th-century French poets
1110:
744:The young Indian (1764);
30:
1124:Jean Regnault de Segrais
625:prison des Madelonnettes
997:Encyclopædia Britannica
887:. Vol. 5. Maradan.
639:Memorial plaque at 10,
380:. He was secretary to
1220:Georges de Porto-Riche
1196:Charles de Viel-Castel
1023:Claude Arnaud (1992).
786:William Stanley Merwin
704:, are, after those of
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623:, he was taken to the
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406:Sébastien-Roch Nicolas
400:, the capital city of
384:'s sister, and of the
353:Sébastien-Roch Nicolas
109:Francophone literature
1333:18th-century suicides
1172:Pierre Louis Roederer
1027:Chamfort, a biography
1012:Renato Fondi (1916).
959:Dictionnaire Bouillet
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585:Pierre-Louis Ginguené
482:Le Marchand de Smyrne
459:The Young Indian Girl
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265:Countries and regions
700:, highly praised by
583:, collaborated with
579:. He worked for the
563:The outbreak of the
413:Collège des Grassins
904:Maurice Pellisson,
829:Oeuvres de Chamfort
818:Oeuvres de Chamfort
807:Oeuvres de Chamfort
796:Oeuvres de Chamfort
589:Feuille villageoise
511:Mustapha et Zeangir
449:under the guise of
252:Short story writers
227:Writers by category
1101:Académie française
727:Antoine de Rivarol
698:Maximes et Pensées
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602:With the reign of
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463:Académie française
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257:Children's writers
222:Chronological list
81:Playwright, writer
1328:French male poets
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621:Jean Marie Roland
581:Mercure de France
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78:Occupation(s)
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72:Paris, France
65:13 April 1794
64:
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29:
22:
19:
16:French writer
1236:Jean Paulhan
1163:
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883:
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861:
850:
839:
828:
817:
806:
795:
788:. Macmillan.
781:
771:
746:
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709:
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443:hack writing
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386:Jacobin club
360:
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351:
293:Postcolonial
160:Contemporary
155:20th century
67:(1794-04-13)
50:6 April 1741
18:
1288:1794 deaths
1283:1741 births
774:. Slatkine.
675:Abbé Sieyès
652:Paris 2ième
644: [
608:Robespierre
500:La Fontaine
242:Playwrights
135:Renaissance
116:by category
1277:Categories
893:References
710:Réflexions
612:Jacobinism
593:Talleyrand
569:republican
314:Literature
181:Classicism
176:Précieuses
46:1741-04-06
1323:Aphorists
1043:chamfort.
616:Girondins
519:Louis XVI
392:Biography
382:Louis XVI
378:aphorisms
237:Novelists
232:Essayists
201:Symbolism
168:Movements
94:aphorisms
1015:Chamfort
692:Writings
668:gendarme
573:Bastille
507:Choiseul
447:Hercules
417:epigrams
402:Auvergne
374:epigrams
191:Decadent
130:Medieval
90:Epigrams
56:, France
1058:at the
985::
968:Sources
916:, p. 3.
683:bon mot
673:To the
587:in the
550:Calonne
531:Auteuil
517:before
471:Molière
365:French:
359:and as
301:Portals
214:Writers
122:History
1262:(2024)
1254:(1995)
1246:(1970)
1238:(1963)
1230:(1931)
1222:(1923)
1214:(1892)
1206:(1888)
1198:(1873)
1190:(1830)
1182:(1816)
1174:(1803)
1166:(1781)
1158:(1758)
1150:(1754)
1142:(1723)
1134:(1701)
1126:(1662)
1118:(1634)
1104:seat 6
1035:
979:
486:livres
451:Adonis
309:France
278:Quebec
273:France
186:Rococo
105:French
733:Works
648:]
604:Marat
496:Eloge
467:Eloge
288:Haiti
247:Poets
1033:ISBN
606:and
595:his
521:and
376:and
150:19th
145:18th
140:17th
107:and
92:and
62:Died
40:Born
994:".
535:mot
498:on
469:on
455:Spa
427:".
1279::
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646:fr
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44:(
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