Quotes from work
The Marriage of Figaro

Pierre Beaumarchais Original title La Folle Journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro (French, 1778)

The Marriage of Figaro is a comedy in five acts, written in 1778 by Pierre Beaumarchais. This play is the second in the Figaro trilogy, preceded by The Barber of Seville and followed by The Guilty Mother.In the first play, The Barber, the story begins with a simple love triangle in which a Spanish count has fallen in love with a girl called Rosine. He disguises himself to ensure that she will love him back for his character, not his wealth. But this is all foiled when Rosine's guardian, Doctor Bartholo, who wants her hand in marriage, confines her to the house. The Count runs into an ex-servant of his , Figaro, and pressures him into setting up a meeting between the Count and Rosine. He succeeds and the lovers are married to end the first part of the trilogy.


Pierre Beaumarchais photo

“Drinking when not thirsty and making love all the time, madam, is all that distinguishes us from other animals.”

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)

Pierre Beaumarchais photo

“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)

Pierre Beaumarchais photo

“Everything ends with songs.”

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)

Pierre Beaumarchais photo

“Because you are a great lord, you believe that you are a great genius! You took the trouble to be born, no more. You remain an ordinary enough man!”

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)

Pierre Beaumarchais photo

“If censorship reigns, there cannot be sincere flattery, and none but little men are afraid of little writings.”

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)

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