I realized people would soon forget me once I was dead. I couldn't even say that this was hard to stomach; really, there's no idea to which one doesn't get acclimatized in time.

It's a kind of spiritual snobbery that makes people think they can be happy without money.

To two men living the same number of years, the world always provides the same sum of experiences. It is up to us to be conscious of them.

maybe she had become tired of being the girlfriend of a condemned man. It also occured to me that maybe she was sick, or dead. These things happen. [...] Anyway, after that, remembering Marie meant nothing to me. That seemed perfectly normal to me, since I understood very well that people would forget me when I was dead.

Men are convinced of your arguments, your sincerity, and the seriousness of your efforts only by your death.

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.

Obstinacy alone is not a virtue.