Alfred, Comte de Vigny

Alfred, Comte de Vigny (1797-1863) was a French poet of the Romanticist school, born at Loches. He entered the army, but left after a few years for a life of literary ease. He produced a small volume of exquisitely finished poems between 1821 and 1829, and only another "Poèmes Philosophiques," which were not published till after his death. He also wrote romances and dramas, and translated into French "Othello" and "Merchant of Venice".

Wisdom & Quotes

• The army is a nation within the nation: it is a vice of our time.

- Servitude et grandeur militaires

• A calm despair, without angry convulsion or reproaches directed to heaven, is the essence of wisdom.

- Journal d'un poete

• The true God, the mighty God, is the God of ideas.

- La Bouteille a la mer

• Only silence is great; all else is weakness.

- La Mort du Loup

Sojourner Truth