Often with good sentiments we produce bad literature.

Life never presents us with anything which may not be looked upon as a fresh starting point, no less than as a termination.

Every instant of our lives is essentially irreplaceable: you must know this in order to concentrate on life.

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.

The bad novelist constructs his characters; he directs them and makes them speak. The true novelist listens to them and watches them act; he hears their voices even before he knows them.

Clear and precise ideas are the most dangerous, for one does not dare to change them.

Whoever starts out toward the unknown must consent to venture alone.