The revolution you dream of is not ours. You don't want to change the world; you want to blow it up.

Ah! How I hate the crimes of the new generation: they are dry and sterile as darnel.

Every existing thing is born without reason, prolongs itself out of weakness, and dies by chance.

The poor don't know that their function in life is to exercise our generosity.

You see, I'm fond of teasing, it's a second nature with me—and I'm used to teasing myself. Plaguing myself, if you prefer; I don't tease nicely.

If I did not publish this autobiography [Les Mots] sooner and in its most radical form, it is because I considered it exaggerated.

A lost battle is a battle one thinks one has lost.