Quote collection
133 quotes — follow a thought to its full quote page.
"There is no such thing as "natural law": this expression is nothing but old nonsense... Prior to laws, what is natural is only the strength of the lion, or the need of the creature suffering from hunger or cold, in short, need."
"The more a race is governed by its passions, the less it has acquired the habit of cautious and reasoned argument, the more intense will be its love of music."
"It is not enough for a landscape to be interesting in itself. Eventually there must be a moral and historic interest."
"The great majority of men, especially in France, both desire and possess a fashionable woman, much in the way one might own a fine horse - as a luxury befitting a young man."
"Women are always eagerly on the lookout for any emotion."
"But, if I sample this pleasure so prudently and circumspectly, it will no longer be a pleasure."
"Beauty is nothing but a promise of happiness."
"The French are the wittiest, the most charming, and up to the present, at all events, the least musical race on Earth."
"War was then no longer this noble and unified outburst of souls in love with glory that he had imagined from Napoleon's proclamations."
"It is the nobility of their style which will make our writers of 1840 unreadable forty years from now."
"A very small matter, when all is said; only a fool would be concerned about it."
"If you think of paying court to the men in power, your eternal ruin is assured."
"I see but one rule: to be clear."
"The tyranny of public opinion (and what an opinion!) is as fatuous in the small towns of France as it is in the United States of America."
"If I meet the Christian Deity, I am lost: He is a tyrant and as such, is full of ideas of vengeance; His Bible speaks of nothing but fearful punishments. I never loved Him! I could never even believe that anyone did love Him sincerely. He is devoid of pity.... He will punish me in some abominable manner."
"I see but one rule: to be clear. If I am not clear, all my world crumbles to nothing."
"I have a bad memory for facts."
"Spring appears and we are once more children."
"The difference breeds hatred."
"A man who is half an idiot, but who keeps a sharp lookout and acts prudently all his life, often enjoys the pleasure of triumphing over men of more imagination than he"