Ah! my friend, for whomever is alone, without a god and without a master, the weight of time is terrible. One must then choose a master, God being out of style.

Mistakes are joyful, truth infernal.

So the thing that bothered me most was that the condemned man had to hope the machine would work the first time.

Charm is a way of getting the answer 'Yes' without asking a clear question.

When love ceases to be tragic it is something else and the individual again throws himself in search of tragedy.

What will be left of the power of example if it is proved that capital punishment has another power, and a very real one, which degrades men to the point of shame, madness, and murder?

For a man who loves power, competition from the gods is annoying. I have done away with that. I have proven to these illusory godsthat a man, if he has the will, can practice, without any apprenticeship, their ridiculous trade.