Whereas scoundrels become reconciled after knifing one another, lovers break up irrevocably over a mere glance or word.
Honore de BalzacWhen women love us, they forgive us everything, even our crimes; when they do not love us, they give us credit for nothing, not even our virtues.
Honore de BalzacA mother's happiness is like a beacon, lighting up the future but reflected also on the past in the guise of fond memories.
Honore de BalzacIn all lands, sailors form a race apart. They profess a congenital contempt for landlubbers. As for the tradesman, he understands nothing of sailors nor cares a fig about them. He is content to rob them if he can.
Honore de BalzacOne admirable trait in women is their lack of illusions about themselves. They never reason about their most blameworthy actions; their feelings carry them away. Even their dissimulation comes naturally to them, and in them crime is free of all baseness. Most of the time they simply do not know how it happened.
Honore de Balzac