Luc de Clapiers Author
- Gender: Male
- Citizenship: France
- Born: Aug 6, 1715
- Died: May 28, 1747
Luc de Clapiers, marquis de Vauvenargues was a minor French writer, a moralist. He died at age 31, in broken health, having published the year prior—anonymously—a collection of essays and aphorisms with the encouragement of Voltaire, his friend. He first received public notice under his own name in 1797, and from 1857 on, his aphorisms became popular. In the history of French literature, his significance lies chiefly in his friendship with Voltaire.
There is nothing that fear and hope does not permit men to do.
fear & hope
If people did not compliment one another there would be little society.
society
The law cannot equalize mankind in spite of nature.
nature
The things we know best are the things we haven't been taught.
best
You must rouse into people's consciousness their own prudence and strength, if you want to raise their character.
strength
Our failings sometimes bind us to one another as closely as could virtue itself.
failure
Vice stirs up war, virtue fights.
war
The most absurd and reckless aspirations have sometimes led to extraordinary success.
success
The art of pleasing is the art of deception.
art