It is unthinkable for a Frenchman to arrive at middle age without having syphilis and the Cross of the Legion of Honor.

Through loyalty to the past, our mind refuses to realize that tomorrow's joy is possible only if today's makes way for it; that each wave owes the beauty of its line only to the withdrawal of the preceding one.

A work of art is an exaggeration.

I find just as much profit in cultivating my hates as my loves.

One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.

An opinion, though it is original, does not necessarily differ from the accepted opinion; the important thing is that it does not try to conform to it.

Complete possession is proved only by giving. All you are unable to give possesses you.