The need to express oneself in writing springs from a mal-adjustment to life, or from an inner conflict which the adolescent (or the grown man) cannot resolve in action. Those to whom action comes as easily as breathing rarely feel the need to break loose from the real, to rise above, and describe it... I do not mean that it is enough to be maladjusted to become a great writer, but writing is, for some, a method of resolving a conflict, provided they have the necessary talent.
Andre MauroisA great biography should, like the close of a great drama, leave behind it a feeling of serenity. We collect into a small bunch the flowers, the few flowers, which brought sweetness into a life, and present it as an offering to an accomplished destiny. It is the dying refrain of a completed song, the final verse of a finished poem.
Andre MauroisMen and women are not born inconstant: they are made so by their early amorous experiences.
Andre MauroisIf you value a man's regard, strive with him. As to liking, you like your newspaper - and despise it.
Andre MauroisLearning is nothing without cultivated manners, but when the two are combined in a woman, you have one of the most exquisite products of civilization.
Andre Maurois