The Philosopher
Vauvenargues
The face
The background
- Nationality:
- French
- Schools:
- Stoicism
- Branchs:
- Moralist
- Period:
- 18th-century
The synopsis
Luc de Clapiers, marquis de Vauvenargues, was a French writer and moralist (1715–1747). Born into a poor noble family in Aix-en-Provence, his frail health limited his early education, preventing him from studying classical languages. He entered the military at age 17 or 18, reaching the rank of captain. His military career was marked by hardship, including severe frostbite during the Siege of Prague in 1742, which permanently affected his health. He also suffered from poor eyesight. A significant personal event was his deep devotion to a younger fellow officer, Paul Hippolyte Emmanuel de Seytres, who died at seventeen. Vauvenargues dedicated his work 'Conseil à un jeune homme' to Seytres and worked on a eulogy for him throughout his life. He began corresponding with Voltaire in 1743, who encouraged his literary pursuits. Despite aspirations for a diplomatic career, which were ultimately unsuccessful, Vauvenargues published his only volume, a collection of essays and aphorisms, anonymously in 1746 with Voltaire's encouragement. He later moved to Paris, living a reclusive life. His sole published work, 'Reflexions et Maximes', was reissued in the year of his death. Despite its brevity, his work has been admired for its noble perspective on human nature, aligning with Stoic ideals rather than Epicurean ones. He died in Paris at the age of 31.
The works
Reflexions et Maximes
The quotes
Those who can bear all can dare all.
Men sometimes feel injured by praise because it assigns a limit to their merit; few people are modest enough not to take offense that one appreciates them.
The maxims of men reveal their characters.
We should expect the best and the worst of mankind, as from the weather.
You must rouse into people's consciousness their own prudence and strength, if you want to raise their character.
The art of pleasing is the art of deception.
Everyone is born sincere and die deceivers.
To achieve great things we must live as though we were never going to die.
Clearness ornaments profound thoughts.
The conscience of the dying belies their life.
To execute great things, one should live as though one would never die.
The most absurd and reckless aspirations have sometimes led to extraordinary success.
Wicked people are always surprised to find ability in those that are good.
You are not born for fame if you don't know the value of time.
The fool is like those people who think themselves rich with little.
The greatest achievement of the human spirit is to live up to one's opportunities and make the most of one's resources.
The greatest evil which fortune can inflict on men is to endow them with small talents and great ambition.
Patience is the art of hoping.
Great thoughts come from the heart.
When a thought is too weak to be expressed simply, it should be rejected.
There is nothing that fear and hope does not permit men to do.
Indolence is the sleep of the mind.
Vice stirs up war, virtue fights.
One promises much, to avoid giving little.
It is difficult to esteem a man as highly as he would wish.
Clarity is the counterbalance of profound thoughts.
The fruit derived from labor is the sweetest of pleasures.
Our failings sometimes bind us to one another as closely as could virtue itself.
The wicked are always surprised to find ability in the good.
Prosperity makes few friends.
Obscurity is the realm of error.
The law cannot equalize mankind in spite of nature.
Emotions have taught mankind to reason.
To possess taste, one must have some soul.