Believe me, the hardest thing for a man to give up is that which he really doesn't want, after all.

Men who have greatness within them don't go in for politics.

An intellectual? Yes. And never deny it. An intellectual is someone whose mind watches itself. I like this, because I am happy to be both halves, the watcher and the watched. "Can they be brought together?" This is a practical question. We must get down to it. "I despise intelligence" really means: "I cannot bear my doubts.

Your success and happiness are forgiven you only if you generously consent to share them. But to be happy it is essential not to be too concerned with others. Consequently, there is no escape. Happy and judged, or absolved and wretched.

All great deeds and all great thoughts have a ridiculous beginning.

Accepting the absurdity of everything around us is one step, a necessary experience: it should not become a dead end. It arouses a revolt that can become fruitful

The work of art is born of the intelligence's refusal to reason the concrete. It marks the triumph of the carnal.