Chamfort: Reflections on Life, Love and Society Together with Anecdotes and Little Philosophical Dialogues

by Douglas Parmée (Compiler)

This is a portrait of the colorful characters of late 18th-century France, and a treasure chest of poignant, satirical humor to put a smile on every cynic's face. Chamfort was a man of his time. A love child of semi-noble birth, he became a cult figure in the salons of pre-revolutionary Paris. His athleticism and charm proving irresistibly attractive to the same aristocracy which later he would grow to despise. But it was only after his death, in 1794, that he achieved the fame he had always longed for. In his room were found thousands of scraps of paper on which he had written his reflections on love, life, and society. Later published in book form by admirers, these have become a testament to the astutely perceptive wit of France's forgotten philosopher.

Genres: Philosophy

224 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2003

About the author

Douglas Parmée was a lecturer in modern languages at Cambridge and a Lifetime Fellow of Queens’ College. He translated many works of classic and contemporary literature from French, Italian, and German, receiving the Scott Moncrieff Prize for French translation in 1976. NYRB Classics publishes his translations of The Child by Jules Vallès, Afloat by Guy de Maupassant, and Nature Stories by Jules Renard.

Reviews

[Stephen Rowland · Rating 2 out of 5]

2½. My first exposure to Chamfort and much lighter, more frivolous than I was expecting. There are some good maxims and/or aphorisms contained in these pages, but in general, Chamfort's observations are nothing revelatory and his writing style isn't particularly remarkable.

[C. Quabela · Rating 5 out of 5]

My only complaint is how short this was! I really enjoyed reading these lucid, humorous, often sardonic insights on everday life from a man who was closely aquainted with the heavy hitting philosophical and revolutionary minds of the era. As the translator prefaces, Chamfort is an unfortunatley unfamiliar name in the English speaking world not only in regards to his own writings but also to the extent he has influenced such notorious thinkers as Beckett, Nietzsche and Proust.