Literary Birthday – 24 January – Pierre de Beaumarchais

Pierre de Beaumarchais was born 24 January 1732, and died 18 May 1799.

Five Quotes

1. Nowadays what isn’t worth saying is sung.
2. Where love is concerned, too much is never enough.
3. Drinking when we are not thirsty and making love at all seasons, madam: that is all there is to distinguish us from other animals.
4. As long as I don’t write about the government, religion, politics, and other institutions, I am free to print anything.
5. I hasten to laugh at everything, for fear of being obliged to weep.

Pierre de Beaumarchais was a French playwright, watchmaker, inventor, musician, diplomat, fugitive, spy, publisher, horticulturalist, arms dealer, satirist, financier, and revolutionary (both French and American). He was best known, however, for his dramatic works, especially The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro.

Source for image: After Jean-Marc Nattier, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

by Amanda Patterson

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