It is easier for a woman to be a good wife than a good mother. A widow has two duties with contrary obligations: she is a mother and she must exercise paternal authority. Few woman are strong enough to understand and to play this role.
Honore de BalzacGrief ennobles the commonest people because it has its own essential grandeur. To shine with the luster of grief, a person need only be sincere.
Honore de BalzacOne can imagine the look the two lovers exchanged; it was like a flame, for virtuous lovers have not a shred of hypocrisy.
Honore de Balzac