There are two kinds of poets: those who feel and those who express themselves. The former are happier.

We must certainly acknowledge that solitude is a fine thing; but it is a pleasure to have some one who can answer, and to whom we can say, from time to time, that solitude is a fine thing.

How did you get back?' asked Vautrin. 'I walked,' replied Eugene. 'I wouldn't like half-pleasures, myself,' observed the tempter. 'I'd want to go there in my own carriage, have my own box, and come back in comfort. All or nothing, that's my motto.' 'And a very good one,' said Madame Vauquer.

Many men nourish a pride which urges them to conceal their struggles and show themselves only as conquerors.

People who are in love suspect nothing or everything.

To speak of love is to make love.

One should believe in marriage as in the immortality of the soul.