What made me run away was doubtless not so much the fear of settling down, but of settling down permanently in something ugly.

My dear friend, we mustn't give them even the slightest excuse to judge us! Otherwise, we end up in pieces.

Even when one sits in the prisoner's dock, it is interesting to hear talk about oneself.

In normal times all of us know, whether consciously or not, that there is no love which can't be bettered; nevertheless, we reconcile ourselves more or less easily to the fact that ours has never risen above the average.

True debauchery is liberating because it creates no obligations. In it you possess only yourself, hence it remains the favorite pastime of the great lovers of their own person.

For who would dare to assert that eternal happiness can compensate for a single moment's human suffering

If one could only say just once: 'this is clear', all would be saved