François-René De Chateaubriand Quotes

Forests precede civilizations and deserts follow them.

There is nothing beautiful or sweet or great in life that is not mysterious.

The most disastrous times have produced the greatest minds. The purest metal comes of the most ardent furnace; the most brilliant lightning come of the darkest clouds.

Every institution goes through three stages - utility, privilege, and abuse.

The heart feels, the head compares.

Alexander created cities everywhere he passed: I have left dreams everywhere I have trailed my life.

Forests were the first temples of the Divinity, and it is in the forests that men have grasped the first idea of architecture.

We must not always try to plumb the depths of the human heart; the truths it contains are among those that are best seen in half-light or in perspective.

The original writer is not he who refrains from imitating others, but he who can be imitated by none.

Love decreases when it ceases to increase.

Achilles exists only through Homer . Take away the art of writing from this world , and you will probably take away its glory .

One does not learn how to die by killing others.

As soon as a true thought has entered our mind, it gives a light which makes us see a crowd of other objects which we have never perceived before.

There is no religion without mysteries. God Himself is the great secret of Nature.

You are not superior just because you see the world in an odious light.

Justice is the bread of the nation; it is always hungry for it.

An original writer is not one who imitates nobody, but one whom nobody can imitate.

The cat lives alone, has no need of society, obeys only when she pleases, pretends to sleep that she may see more clearly, and scratches everything on which she can lay her paw.

Something you consider bad may bring out your child's talents; something you consider good may stifle them.

Music is the child of prayer, the companion of religion.

I am Bourbon as a matter of honour, royalist according to reason and conviction, and republican by taste and character.

Let us not disdain glory too much; nothing is finer, except virtue. The height of happiness would be to unite both in this life.

One is not superior merely because one sees the world as odious.

Talent is nothing but long impatience.

My downfall made a great noise: those who appeared most satisfied criticized the manner of it.

Purgatory surpasses heaven and hell in poetry, because it represents a future and the others do not.

Si quelques heures font une grande différence dans le cœur de l’homme, faut-il s’en étonner ? Il n’y a qu’une minute de la vie à la mort.

L’arbre tombe feuille à feuille : si les hommes contemplaient chaque matin ce qu’ils ont perdu la veille, ils s’apercevraient bien de leur pauvreté.

Le passé et le présent sont deux statues incomplètes: l'une a été retirée toute mutilée du débris des âges, l'autre n'a pas encore reçu sa perfection de l'avenir.