We are not naïve enough to ask for pure men; we ask merely for men whose impurity does not conflict with the obligations of their job.

I don't judge a regime by the damning criticism of the opposition, but by the ingenuous praise of the partisan.

The nobility of a human being is strictly independent of that of his convictions.

To love an idea is to love it a little more than one should.

Falsity cannot keep an idea from being beautiful; there are certain errors of such ingenuity that one could regret their not ranking among the achievements of the human mind.

We bestow on others praise in which we do not believe, on condition that in return they bestow upon us praise in which we do.

Literature: proclaiming in front of everyone what one is careful to conceal from one's immediate circle