The young people who come to me in the hope of hearing me utter a few memorable maxims are quite disappointed. Aphorisms are not my forte, I say nothing but banalities.... I listen to them and they go away delighted.

It is easier to lead men to combat, stirring up their passion, than to restrain them and direct them toward the patient labors of peace.

Wisdom comes not from reason but from love.

The work of art is the exaggeration of an idea.

Without mysticism man can achieve nothing great.

There is a law in life: When one door closes to us another one opens.

It is often so: the harder it is to hear, the more a truth is worth saying.