C.D. Warner, et al., comp.
The Library of the World’s Best Literature. An Anthology in Thirty Volumes. 1917.
Sébastien-Roch-Nicolas Chamfort (1740?–1794)
Chamfort, Sébastien Roch Nicolas (sho
-for’). A French moralist and critic (1740?–1794). Among his works are comedies, literary criticisms, political articles, and poems; but none compare with his ‘Maxims and Thoughts’ which rank next after La Rochefoucauld’s ‘Maxims.’ Sainte-Beuve says of them that they are like “well-minted coins that retain their value.” Chamfort’s tragedy ‘Mustapha and Zeangir’ has some scenes of genuine passion, but as a whole it is artificial. He wrote some tales in verse, but their licentiousness is not redeemed even by grace of style.