Passion is universal humanity. Without it religion, history, romance and art would be useless.

One of the glories of society is to have created woman where Nature had made only a female; to have created a continuity of desire where Nature thought only of perpetuating the species; and, in fine, to have invented love.

In France we can cauterize wounds but we do not yet know any remedy for the injuries inflicted by a bon mot.

In painting, you can suddenly come upon something so huge that no-one can deal with it.

A woman knows the face of the man she loves as a sailor knows the open sea.

Society is no more indulgent than was the God of Genesis.

Men are so made that they can resist sound argument, and yet yield to a glance.