Political liberty, the peace of a nation, and science itself are gifts for which Fate demands a heavy tax in blood!

Small natures require despotism to exercise their sinews, as great souls thirst for equality to give play to their heart.

By dint of making sacrifices, a man grows interested in the person who exacts them. Great ladies, like courtesans, know this truth by instinct.

Our heart is a treasury; if you pour out all its wealth at once, you are bankrupt.

In family life people almost always adjust themselves to misfortune. They make a bed of it and hope makes them accept that bed, however hard it is.

The response man has the greatest difficulty in tolerating is pity, especially when he warrants it. Hatred is a tonic, it makes one live, it inspires vengeance, but pity kills, it makes our weakness weaker.

Society proceeds like the ocean. After a disaster, it resume its wonted level and rhythms; its devouring interests efface all traces of damage.