I am more affected by the attractions of virtue than by the deformities of vice; I turn gently away from the wicked and I fly to meet the good. If there is in a literary work, in a character, in a picture, in a statue, a beautiful spot, that is where my eyes rest; I see only that, I remember only that, all the rest is well-nigh forgotten. What becomes of me when the whole work is beautiful!

There comes a moment during which almost every girl or boy falls into melancholy; they are tormented by a vague inquietude which rests on everything and finds nothing to calm it. They seek solitude; they weep; the silence to be found in cloister attracts them: the image of peace that seems to reign in religious houses seduces them. They mistake the first manifestations of a developing sexual nature for the voice of God calling them to Himself; and it is precisely when nature is inciting them that they embrace a fashion of life contrary to nature's wish.

For me, my thoughts are my prostitutes.

The enjoyment of freedom which could be exercised without any motivation would be the real hallmark of a maniac.

The bad gives rise to the good, the good inspires the better, the better produces the excellent, the excellent is followed by the bizarre

In general, children, like men, and men, like children, prefer entertainment to education.

If you disturb the colors of the rainbow, the rainbow is no longer beautiful.