Even in the centuries which appear to us to be the most monstrous and foolish, the immortal appetite for beauty has always found satisfaction.
Charles BaudelaireTheory of the true civilization. It is not to be found in gas or steam or table turning. It consists in the diminution of the traces of original sin.
Charles BaudelaireHow little remains of the man I once was, save the memory of him! But remembering is only a new form of suffering.
Charles BaudelaireNations, like families, have great men only in spite of themselves. They do everything in their power not to have any. And therefore, the great man, in order to exist, must possess a force of attack which is greater than the force of resistance developed by millions of people.
Charles BaudelaireYou are sitting and smoking; you believe that you are sitting in your pipe, and that your pipe is smoking you; you are exhaling yourself in bluish clouds. You feel just fine in this position, and only one thing gives you worry or concern: how will you ever be able to get out of your pipe?
Charles Baudelaire