Suffering! ... We owe to it all that is good in us, all that gives value to life; we owe to it pity, we owe to it courage, we owe to it all the virtues.
Never lend books - nobody ever returns them; the only books I have in my library are those which people have lent me.
I do not know any reading more easy, more fascinating, more delightful than a catalogue.
One must never lose time in vainly regretting the past or in complaining against the changes which cause us discomfort, for change is the essence of life.
The good critic is he who narrates the adventures of his soul among masterpieces.
The mania of thinking renders one unfit for every activity.
Our passions are ourselves.
I prefer the errors of enthusiasm to the indifference of wisdom.
It is not customary to love what one has.
What we call happiness is what we do not know.
Lack of understanding is a great power. Sometimes it enables men to conquer the world.
A writer is rarely so well inspired as when he talks about himself.
The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread.
Simple style is like white light. It is complex, but its complexity is not obvious.
Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened.
If we don't change, we don't grow. If we don't grow, we aren't really living.
All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another.
To accomplish great things, we must dream as well as act.
To accomplish great things, we must not only act but also dream, not only plan, but also believe!
Time deals gently only with those who take it gently.
