“It is a common saying that the most beautiful woman in the world can only give what she has. This is entirely false. She gives exactly what the recipient thinks he has received; for imagination fixes the value of this sort of favour.”

— Nicolas Chamfort

On dit communément: la plus belle femme du monde ne peut donner que ce qu'elle a; ce qui est très faux: elle donne précisément ce qu'on croit recevoir, puisqu'en ce genre, c'est l'imagination qui fait le prix de ce qu'on reçoit.
Maximes et Pensées, #383
Maxims and Considerations, #383

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Nicolas Chamfort 54

French writer 1741–1794

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