To be witty is not enough. One must possess sufficient wit to avoid having too much of it.

A man cannot free himself from the past more easily than he can from his own body.

The reading of a fine book is an uninterrupted dialogue in which the book speaks and our soul replies.

Self-pity comes so naturally to all of us. The most solid happiness can be shaken by the compassion of a fool.

Two human beings anchored to one another are like two ships shaken by waves; their carcases collide with one another and creak.

If men could regard the events of their own lives with more open minds, they would frequently discover that they did not really desire the things they failed to obtain.

The art of reading is in great part that of acquiring a better understanding of life from one's encounter with it in a book.