a woman, when she is heroic, is not heroic by halves.

He who draws noble delights from sentiments of poetry is a true poet, though he has never written a line in all his life.

I regard as a mortal sin not only the lying of the senses in matters of love, but also the illusion which the senses seek to create where love is only partial. I say, I believe, that one must love with all of one's being, or else live, come what may, a life of complete chastity.

We must love stupid people better than ourselves; are they not the really unfortunate ones of this world? Do not people without taste and without ideal grow constantly weary, rejoicing in nothing, and being quite useless here below?

The life of great geniuses is nothing but a sublime storm.

The cigar is the perfect complement to an elegant lifestyle.

Humanity is outraged in me and with me. We must not dissimulate nor try to forget this indignation, which is one of the most passionate forms of love.