The fame of surgeons resembles the fame of actors, who live only during their lifetime and whose talent is no longer appreciable once they have disappeared.

First love is a kind of vaccination which saves a man from catching the complaint the second time.

The happier a man, the more apt he is to tremble. In hearts exclusively tender, anxiety and jealousy are in exact proportion to happiness.

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

Art's greatest efforts are invariably a timid counterfeit of Nature.

When an intelligent man reaches the point of inviting self-explanation and offers surrendering the key to his heart, he is assuredly riding a drunken horse.

Self-interest is an ineffable feeling which shall follow us into God's very presence since they say there is a hierarchy even among the Holy Saints.