And so I will take back up my poor life, so plain and so tranquil, where phrases are adventures and the only flowers I gather aremetaphors.

Success is a consequence and must not be a goal. I've never sought it (though I desire it) and seek it less and less.

I detest my fellow-beings and do not feel that I am their fellow at all

The morality of art is in its very beauty.

Remembering the ball became for Emma a daily occupation. Every time Wednesday came round, she told herself when she woke up: 'Ah! One week ago...two weeks ago...three weeks ago, I was there!' And, little by little, in her memory, the faces all blurred together; she forgot the tunes of the quadrilles; no longer could she so clearly picture the liveries and the rooms; some details disappeared, but the yearning remained.

Talent is a long patience, and originality an effort of will and intense observation.

I believe that if one always looked at the skies, one would end up with wings.