Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais was a French polymath. At various times in his life, he was a watchmaker, inventor, playwright, musician, diplomat, spy, publisher, horticulturist, arms dealer, satirist, financier, and revolutionary .
Born a Parisian watchmaker's son, Beaumarchais rose in French society and became influential in the court of Louis XV as an inventor and music teacher. He made a number of important business and social contacts, played various roles as a diplomat and spy, and had earned a considerable fortune before a series of costly court battles jeopardized his reputation.
An early French supporter of American independence, Beaumarchais lobbied the French government on behalf of the American rebels during the American War of Independence. Beaumarchais oversaw covert aid from the French and Spanish governments to supply arms and financial assistance to the rebels in the years before France's formal entry into the war in 1778. He later struggled to recover money he had personally invested in the scheme. Beaumarchais was also a participant in the early stages of the 1789 French Revolution. He is probably best known, however, for his theatrical works, especially the three Figaro plays.
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“That which is not worth speaking they sing.”
Ce qui ne vaut pas la peine d'être dit, on le chante.
Act I, scene i. Reported in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations (1922), p. 712-13.
Le Barbier de Séville (1773)
“Calumniate, calumniate; there will always be something which sticks.”
Calomniez, calomniez; il en reste toujours quelque chose.
Act III, scene xiii
Le Barbier de Séville (1773)
Tout finit par des chansons.
Mariage de Figaro, End. Reported in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations (1922), p. 732-33.
The Marriage of Figaro (1778)
Sans la liberté de blâmer, il n'est point d'éloge flatteur; et qu'il n'y a que les petits hommes qui redoutent les petits écrits.
Act V, scene iii
The Marriage of Figaro (1778)
Parce que vous êtes un grand seigneur, vous vous croyez un grand génie! … vous vous êtes donné la peine de naître, et rien de plus. Du reste homme assez ordinaire!
Act II, scene ii
The Marriage of Figaro (1778)
“Be commonplace and creeping, and you attain all things.”
Médiocre et rampant, et l'on arrive à tout.
Act III, scene vii. Reported in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations (1922), p. 759-62.
Le Barbier de Séville (1773)
“I hasten to laugh at everything, for fear of being obliged to weep.”
Je me presse de rire de tout, de peur d'être obligé d'en pleurer.
Act I, scene ii
Variant translations:
I quickly laugh at everything, for fear of having to cry.
I force myself to laugh at everything, for fear of having to cry.
Le Barbier de Séville (1773)
“Of all serious things, marriage is the most ludicrous.”
De toutes les choses sérieuses, le mariage étant la plus bouffonne.
Act I, scene ix
The Marriage of Figaro (1778)
Que les gens d'esprit sont bêtes.
Act I, scene i. Reported in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations (1922), p. 883-86.
Le Barbier de Séville (1773)
“It is not necessary to retain facts that we may reason concerning them.”
Il n'est pas nécessaire de tenir les choses pour en raisonner.
Act V, scene iv. Reported in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations (1922), p. 658-59.
Le Barbier de Séville (1773)
Boire sans soif et faire l'amour en tout temps, madame, il n'y a que ça qui nous distingue des autres bêtes.
Act II, scene ii
The Marriage of Figaro (1778)
