There should be more sincerity and heart in human relations, more silence and simplicity in our interactions. Be rude when you're angry, laugh when something is funny, and answer when you're asked.

A litterateur is not a confectioner, not a dealer in cosmetics, not an entertainer. . . . He is just like an ordinary reporter. What would you say if a newspaper reporter, because of his fastidiousness or from a wish to give pleasure to his readers, were to describe only honest mayors, high-minded ladies, and virtuous railroad contractors.

If you can't distinguish people from lap-dogs, you shouldn't undertake philanthropic work.

Every coming year is as bad as the previous one, the only difference being that in most cases it is even worse.

Never bring a cannon on stage in Act I unless you intend to fire it by the last act.

If our life has a meaning, an aim, it has nothing to do with our personal happiness, but something wiser and greater.

Try to reason about love, and you will lose your reason.