Nearly all men are slaves for ...

Nearly all men are slaves for the same reason that the Spartans assigned for the servitude of the Persians -- lack of power to pronounce the syllable, "No." To be able to utter that word and live alone, are the only means to preserve one's freedom and one's character.
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 Nicolas Chamfort

Quotes from the same author

There are more fools than wise men, and even in a wise man there is more folly than wisdom.
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 Nicolas Chamfort
Men whose only concern is other people's opinion of them are like actors who put on a poor performance to win the applause of people of poor taste; some of them would be capable of good acting in front of a good audience. A decent man plays his part to the best of his ability, regardless of the taste of the gallery.
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 Nicolas Chamfort
One can be certain that every generally held idea, every received notion, will be idiocy because it has been able to appeal to the majority
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 Nicolas Chamfort
Stupidity would not be absolute stupidity did it not fear intelligence.
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 Nicolas Chamfort
In love, everything is true, everything is false; it is the one subject on which one cannot express an absurdity.
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 Nicolas Chamfort