“Aristocracy of the mind … is the only true aristocracy in my opinion. It is the essence, the very life of a well-built society.”

Source: Défense des Lettres [In Defense of Letters] (1937), p. 41

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Georges Duhamel 23
French writer 1884–1966

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Original text: [...] si l'on y rencontre moins d'éclat qu'au sein d'une aristocratie, on y trouvera moins de misères; les jouissances y seront moins extrêmes, et le bien-être plus général; les sciences moins grandes, et l'ignorance plus rare; les sentiments moins énergiques, et les habitudes plus douces; on y remarquera plus de vices et moins de crimes.
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