Artists are the monks of the bourgeois state.

Writing is a fine thing, because it combines the two pleasures of talking to yourself and talking to a crowd.

Every luxury must be paid for, and everything is a luxury, starting with being in this world.

Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends

Literature is a defense against the attacks of life. It says to life: You can't deceive me. I know your habits, foresee and enjoy watching all your reactions, and steal your secret by involving you in cunning obstructions that halt your normal flow.

Woman gives herself as a prize to the weak and as a prop to the strong and no man ever has what he should.

The art of living is the art of knowing how to believe lies. The fearful thing about it is that, not knowing what truth may be, we can still recognize lies.