Pierre-Marc-Gaston de Lévis (7 March 1764,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

– 15 February 1830), second duke of Lévis, peer of France, was a French politician,

aphorist An aphorism (from Greek ἀφορισμός: ''aphorismos'', denoting 'delimitation', 'distinction', and 'definition') is a concise, terse, laconic, or memorable expression of a general truth or principle. Aphorisms are often handed down by tra ...

and député to the National Constituent Assembly. His father was the first duke of Lévis, marshal Francis de Gaston. In 1816 he was elected to seat 6 of the Académie française. During the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

, he escaped to England. Two of his three sisters and his mother were sent to the

guillotine A guillotine is an apparatus designed for efficiently carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with stocks at t ...

during the French Revolution. He is credited with the quotation "Boredom is an illness for which work is the remedy". The quotation often attributed to

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—es ...

, "Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers" is a version of one maxim by Lévis: "''Il est encore plus facile de juger de l'esprit d'un homme par ses questions que par ses réponses.''" (It is easier to judge the mind of a man by his questions rather than his answers) from ''Maximes et réflexions sur différents sujets de morale et de politique'' (Paris, 1808): Maxim xviii. His 1808 book is also the source of the expression "''

noblesse oblige ''Noblesse oblige'' (; ; literally “nobility obliges”) is a French expression from a time when French (more specifically, Anglo-Norman) was the language of the English nobility, and retains in English the meaning that nobility extends beyo ...

''" (nobility obliges; privilege entails responsibility).

Works

:1808 : ''Voyage de Kang-Hi, ou nouvelles lettres chinoises'', 2 vol. :1808 : ''Maximes et réflexions sur différents sujets'' :1812 : ''Suite des quatre Fiercadins'' :1814 : ''L'Angleterre au commencement du XIXe siècle'' :1813 : ''Souvenirs et portraits 1780-1789''Harvard catalog record
/ref> :1816 : ''Considérations morales sur les finances'' :1818 : ''Des emprunts'' :1819 : ''De l'autorité des chambres sur leurs membres'' :1824 : ''Considérations sur la situation financière de la France'' :1828 : ''La conspiration de 1821 ou les jumeaux de Chevreuse'', 2 vol. :1829 : ''Lettre sur la méthode Jacotot''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Levis, Pierre Marc 1764 births 1830 deaths Politicians from Paris Oieree Members of the National Constituent Assembly (France) Members of the Chamber of Peers of the Bourbon Restoration Members of the Académie Française