A character is never the author who created him. It is quite likely, however, that an author may be all his characters simultaneously.

Healthy people have a natural skill of avoiding feverish eyes.

Ah, mon cher, for anyone who is alone, without God and without a master, the weight of days is dreadful.

Every man needs slaves like he needs clean air. To rule is to breathe, is it not? And even the most disenfranchised get to breathe. The lowest on the social scale have their spouses or their children.

To me, art is not a solitary delight. It is a means of stirring the greatest number of men by providing them with a privileged image of our common joys and woes.

I know myself too well to believe in pure virtue.

I may not have been sure about what really did interest me, but I was absolutely sure about what didn't.