You instinctively display the greatest virtue, or rather the chief defect, of us eccentric Parisians- that is, you assume the vices you have not, and conceal the virtues you possess.

I have always had more dread of a pen, a bottle of ink, and a sheet of paper than of a sword or pistol.

Be happy, noble heart, be blessed for all the good thou hast done and wilt do hereafter, and let my gratitude remain in obscurity like your good deeds.

He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness.

When you compare the sorrows of real life to the pleasures of the imaginary one, you will never want to live again, only to dream forever.

Unfortunates, who ought to begin with God, do not have any hope in him till they have exhausted all other means of deliverance.

So much the worse for those who fear wine, for it is because they have some bad thoughts which they are afraid the liquor will extract from their hearts.

For the happy man prayer is only a jumble of words, until the day when sorrow comes to explain to him the sublime language by means of which he speaks to God.

To save a man and thereby to spare a father's agony and a mother's feelings is not to do a noble deed, it is but an act of humanity.

...remember that what has once been done may be done again.

Woman is sacred the woman one loves is holy.

Public opinion a vulgar impertinent anonymous tyrant who deliberately makes life unpleasant for anyone who is not content to be the average man.

I am a wanderer passionately in love with life.

As the excited passions of hostile people are of themselves a powerful enemy, both the general and his government should use their best efforts to allay them.

Every coming year is as bad as the previous one, the only difference being that in most cases it is even worse.

The only legitimate artists in England are the architects.

Understanding is a two-way street.

All religion relates to life, and the life of religion is to do good

I think someone should explain to the child that it's OK to make mistakes. That's how we learn. When we compete, we make mistakes.

The humanitarian argument is so selective I find it difficult to swallow. It's not even so much about the choice as to where we should get involved and where we shouldn't.

What happens at the beginning of any creative process? Nothing! Creativity requires that we create space and wait for something to emerge.