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Products of the Perfected Civilization: Selected Writings
A 95 page biography by W.S. Merwin precedes Chamfort's selected writings, along with an introduction by essayist-critic Louis Kronenberger. A poet and translator, Merwin sheds light on the man while Chamfort (1740-1794) is shedding light on his world.
281 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 3, 2014
"Celebrity : The advantage of being known by those who do not know you." This aphorism from the late 18thC illustrates Chamfort's wit and contemporary relevance. Consider our media and public today with the embrace of celebrity drivel. "The public! How many fools does it take to make up a public ?" Chamfort asked.
His plays, poetry, essays are forgotten. But Chamfort is ranked 2d to La Rochefoucauld for his scribbled away insightful thoughts on human truths that were found after his suicide, age 53, during the French Revolution which he championed. Amid treachery of the Terror, he faced arrest and pulled the trigger.
Of cloudy parentage, the handsome young nobody became an engaging somebody who charmed Marie Antoinette, Voltaire, various nobles and their wives who introduced Chamfort to the game of Musical Beds. "In love, everything is true, everything is false," he reflected. "It is the one subject in which one cannot express an absurdity."
In his 20s, he got the pox. His humors darkened as he had to "take the waters" constantly at spas. Independent and honest, he balanced an unbalanced life, usually living in freezing garrets and without money. His was a Fairbanks-Belmondo costumer that mixed Beaumarchais with the guillotine.
Poet-translator W. S. Merwin's slim volume is always on the verge of being Interesting, but he can't quite bring it off. His own writing sometimes seems like a translation. Now I want to read Claude Arnaud's biography of the chap who fascinated both Camus and Nietzsche.
Chamfortiana : "One would be disgusted if one saw politics, justice and one's dinner in the making."
His plays, poetry, essays are forgotten. But Chamfort is ranked 2d to La Rochefoucauld for his scribbled away insightful thoughts on human truths that were found after his suicide, age 53, during the French Revolution which he championed. Amid treachery of the Terror, he faced arrest and pulled the trigger.
Of cloudy parentage, the handsome young nobody became an engaging somebody who charmed Marie Antoinette, Voltaire, various nobles and their wives who introduced Chamfort to the game of Musical Beds. "In love, everything is true, everything is false," he reflected. "It is the one subject in which one cannot express an absurdity."
In his 20s, he got the pox. His humors darkened as he had to "take the waters" constantly at spas. Independent and honest, he balanced an unbalanced life, usually living in freezing garrets and without money. His was a Fairbanks-Belmondo costumer that mixed Beaumarchais with the guillotine.
Poet-translator W. S. Merwin's slim volume is always on the verge of being Interesting, but he can't quite bring it off. His own writing sometimes seems like a translation. Now I want to read Claude Arnaud's biography of the chap who fascinated both Camus and Nietzsche.
Chamfortiana : "One would be disgusted if one saw politics, justice and one's dinner in the making."
January 3, 2011
Comment:
"If Chamfort had remained just a little bit more a philosopher, the Revolution would not have had its tragic wit and sharpest sting; it would be considered a much stupider event and would not seduce so many minds." Nietzsche, Gay Science, Book II.
I have this book translated by W.S. Merwin 1984, ISBN 0-86547-145-2. Unfortunately, I believe it is out of print. Some examples of bon mots that might have pleased Nietzsche are:
"They asked Madame de Rochefort whether she wanted to know the future. 'No,' she said, 'it's too much like the past.'"
"'The difference between you and me,' said M---, 'is that you have said to all the masks 'I know you,' while I have let them imagine that they were deceiving me. That is why the world is kinder to me than to you. It is a ball at which you have spoiled the others' game and your own amusement.'"
"D--- a witty misanthrope, said to me, referring to the evil of men, 'It's only the uselessness of the first flood that keeps God from sending a second.'"
Find this book and see this sentimental cynic at work!
"If Chamfort had remained just a little bit more a philosopher, the Revolution would not have had its tragic wit and sharpest sting; it would be considered a much stupider event and would not seduce so many minds." Nietzsche, Gay Science, Book II.
I have this book translated by W.S. Merwin 1984, ISBN 0-86547-145-2. Unfortunately, I believe it is out of print. Some examples of bon mots that might have pleased Nietzsche are:
"They asked Madame de Rochefort whether she wanted to know the future. 'No,' she said, 'it's too much like the past.'"
"'The difference between you and me,' said M---, 'is that you have said to all the masks 'I know you,' while I have let them imagine that they were deceiving me. That is why the world is kinder to me than to you. It is a ball at which you have spoiled the others' game and your own amusement.'"
"D--- a witty misanthrope, said to me, referring to the evil of men, 'It's only the uselessness of the first flood that keeps God from sending a second.'"
Find this book and see this sentimental cynic at work!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews