Personal courage is really a very subordinate virtue-a virtue, indeed, in which we are surpassed by the lower animals; or else you would not hear people say, as brave as a lion.

When you look back on your life, it looks as though it were a plot, but when you are into it, it's a mess: just one surprise after another. Then, later, you see it was perfect.

A man can do what he wants, but not want what he wants.

The old woman dies, the burden is lifted.

To call the world God is not to explain it; it is only to enrich our language with a superfluous synonym.

Any book, which is at all important, should be reread immediately

To free a person from error is to give, and not to take away.