People don't like the true and simple; they like fairy tales and humbug.

A painting in a museum hears more ridiculous opinions than anything else in the world.

I feel sure that coups d'état would go much better if there were seats, boxes, and stalls so that one could see what was happening and not miss anything.

I have always derived indescribable pleasure from leading a decent woman to the edge of sin and leaving her there to live between the temptation and the fear of that sin.

The facts: nothing matters but the facts: worship of the facts leads to everything, to happiness first of all and then to wealth.

The English are crooked as a nation and honest as individuals. The contrary is true of the French, who are honest as a nation and crooked as individuals.

Historians tell the story of the past, novelists the story of the present.