My pessimism has never been flabby.

We are possessed by the things we possess. When I like an object, I always give it to someone. It isn't generosity-it's only because I want others to be enslaved by objects, not me.

All I can do is make the best of what I am, become accustomed to it, evaluate the possibilities, and take advantage of them the best I can.

Acting is happy agony.

Take [Stéphane] Mallarme. I hold him to be the greatest of French poets, and I have taken some time to understand him !

I needed to justify my existence, and I had made an absolute of literature. It took me thirty years to get rid of this state of mind.

the worst part about being lied to is knowing you werent worth the truth