No one ever has time to examine himself honestly, and most people look no further than their neighbors' eyes, in which they may see their own reflection.

I did not find him absurd. I saw he was kind, that he was on the verge of real love. I thought it would be nice for me to be in love with him, too.

I shall live badly if I do not write, and I shall write badly if I do not live.

After Proust, there are certain things that simply cannot be done again. He marks off for you the boundaries of your talent.

If you don't have imagination you're lost. But it's a virtue that's becoming increasingly rare, especially in its higher form: spontaneity. Mad, happy spontaneity.

Curiosity is the beginning of all wisdom.

There is a certain age when a woman must be beautiful to be loved, and then there comes a time when she must be loved to be beautiful.