Nature... is nothing but the inner voice of self-interest.

The more a man cultivates the arts the less he fornicates. A more and more apparent cleavage occurs between the spirit and the brute.

In the domain of painting and statuary, the present-day credo of the worldly wise, especially in France, is this: ... I believe that art is, and can only be, the exact reproduction of nature... An avenging God has heard the prayers of this multitude; Daguerre was his messiah.

Life is a hospital in which every patient is possessed by a desire to change his bed.

Always be drunk ... Get drunk militantly. Just get drunk.

The habit of doing one's duty drives away fear.

I am bored in France because everyone resembles Voltaire.