What men call civilization is the condition of present customs; what they call barbarism, the condition of past ones.

Without lies humanity would perish of despair and boredom.

An old philosopher said to Monsieur Coignard, a Reverend Father: 'You are a pig!' To which Abad Coignard answered: 'You flatter me, sir. But unfortunately, I'm only a man.'

Of all the sexual aberrations, chastity is the strangest.

Caress your phrase tenderly; it will end by smiling at you.

Devout believers are safeguarded in a high degree against the risk of certain neurotic illnesses; their acceptance of the universal neurosis spares them the task of constructing a personal one.

The duty of literature is to note what counts, and to light up what is suited to the light. If it ceases to choose and to love, it becomes like a woman who gives herself without preference.