Eminence without merit earns deference without esteem.
Nicolas ChamfortRead
There are more fools than wise men, and even in a wise man there is more folly than wisdom.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that foolishness is more common than wisdom, and even wise individuals possess foolish traits.
Nicolas Chamfort's statement reflects on the nature of human behavior, asserting that foolishness is abundant compared to wisdom. It reminds us that while wise individuals exist, they too can display folly, emphasizing the complexity of human nature where wisdom and foolishness coexist within individuals. This acknowledgment of our imperfections can lead to greater humility and understanding.
Themes
WisdomFoolishnessHuman NatureHumility
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about humility and the nature of intelligence, this quote can highlight the complexities within human character.
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.
Nicolas ChamfortRead
Pleasure can be supported by an illusion; but happiness rests upon truth.
Nicolas ChamfortRead
It is with happiness as with watches: the less complicated, the less easily deranged.
Nicolas ChamfortRead
In living and in seeing other men, the heart must break or become as bronze.
Nicolas ChamfortRead
And so I leave this world, where the heart must either break or turn to lead (suicide note)
Nicolas ChamfortRead
Similar quotes
Delusions are states of mind which, when they arise within our mental continuum, leave us disturbed, confused and unhappy. Therefore, those states of mind which delude or afflict us are called 'delusions.'
Dalai LamaRead
Self-knowledge comes from knowing other men.
Johann Wolfgang Von GoetheRead
And it is very much lamented,... That you have no such mirrors as will turn Your hidden worthiness into your eye That you might see your shadow.
William ShakespeareRead
A mistake is only an error, it becomes a mistake when you fail to correct it
John LennonRead
Thy words, I grant are bigger, for I wear not, my dagger in my mouth.
William ShakespeareRead
The manner in which Epictetus, Montaigne, and Salomon de Tultie wrote, is the most usual, the most suggestive, the most remembered, and the oftener quoted; because it is entirely composed of thoughts born from the common talk of life.
Blaise PascalRead