Drunkenness is never anything but a substitute for happiness.

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.

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

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.

Most often people seek in life occasions for persisting in their opinions rather than for educating themselves.

The abominable effort to take one’s sins with one to paradise.

The wise man is astonished by anything.