Among human beings there is no greater banality than death. Second in order, because it is possible to die without being born, comes birth, and next comes marriage.

Behind all their personal vanity, women themselves always have an impersonal contempt for woman.

Completely true to nature!' - what a lie: / How could nature ever be constrained into a picture? / The smallest bit of nature is infinite! / And so he paints what he likes about it. / And what does he like? He likes what he can paint!

Contentment preserves one from catching cold. Has a woman who knew that she was well dressed ever caught a cold? No, not even when she had scarcely a rag on her back.

A joke is an epigram on the death of a feeling.

The object of convalescence ought to be to turn our attention to life: at other times, simply to our tasks!

The ability to suffer is a small matter - weak women and even slaves can acheive virtuosity in that.