“The public is an old lady who asks you to make her dance, then complains of rheumatism.”Nicolas Chamfort · Maxime și cugetări · 1795 · Maxima 112
The public demands entertainment but then complains about the effort required to obtain it.
Chamfort notes a contradiction in crowd behavior: people want to be impressed and entertained, but as soon as the show is provided, they complain about fatigue or inconvenience. It is like inviting someone to dance, only to have them complain their feet hurt after a few minutes. A politician who organizes a grand event for voters sees exactly this kind of grumbling after the initial excitement.
Why it matters It helps us not to take others' complaints personally and to understand that grumbling is part of the usual human response.