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A day without laughter is a day wasted.

After Nicolas Chamfort (1790s); often credited to Charlie Chaplin

Philosophy

The story behind the card

The thought belongs to Nicolas Chamfort (1741–1794), a French writer famed for his wit in pre-revolutionary Paris. He wrote: “La plus perdue de toutes les journées est celle où l'on n'a pas ri”, the most wasted of all days is the one on which we have not laughed. He welcomed the Revolution, but his sharp tongue made enemies, and he died in 1794, during the Terror. The saying was published the following year. The Chaplin credit is recent: a character in the 1992 film Shining Through gives it to him.

Türkçe oku
Gülmeden geçen gün, boşa geçmiş bir gündür.
Nicolas Chamfort'un bir sözünden (1790'lar); çoğu kez Charlie Chaplin'e mal edilir

Bu düşünce, devrim öncesi Paris'te nüktedanlığıyla ünlü Fransız yazar Nicolas Chamfort'a (1741-1794) aittir. Chamfort şöyle yazmıştı: “La plus perdue de toutes les journées est celle où l'on n'a pas ri”, yani günlerin en boşa geçeni, hiç gülmediğimiz gündür. Devrimi coşkuyla karşıladı, ama sivri dili ona düşman kazandırdı; 1794'te, Terör Dönemi'nde öldü. Söz ertesi yıl yayımlandı. Chaplin'e mal edilmesi ise yenidir: 1992 yapımı Shining Through filminde bir karakter sözü ona atfeder.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Nicolas Chamfort
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