Eminence without merit earns deference without esteem.
Nicolas ChamfortRead
It is with happiness as with watches: the less complicated, the less easily deranged.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Happiness is easier to maintain when it is simple and uncomplicated.
This quote by Nicolas Chamfort suggests that happiness, much like a watch, functions better when it is not overly complicated. In life, the simpler our sources of joy are, the less likely they are to be disturbed or ruined by external factors, making it essential to seek uncomplicated pleasures to maintain a consistent state of happiness.
Themes
HappinessSimplicityJoyWell-Being
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about personal well-being.
More from Nicolas Chamfort
All quotes βNature never said to me: Do not be poor; still less did she say: Be rich; her cry to me was always: Be independent.
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Pleasure can be supported by an illusion; but happiness rests upon truth.
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There are more fools than wise men, and even in a wise man there is more folly than wisdom.
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In living and in seeing other men, the heart must break or become as bronze.
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And so I leave this world, where the heart must either break or turn to lead (suicide note)
Nicolas ChamfortRead
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