I did not want to be taken for a fool-the typical French reason for performing the worst of deeds without remorse.

Passions are less mischievous than boredom, for passions tend to diminish and boredom increase.

The crimes of extreme civilization are probably worse than those of extreme barbarism, because of their refinement, the corruption they presuppose, and their superior degree of intellectuality.

We priests are the surgeons of souls, and it is our duty to deliver them of shameful secrets they would fain conceal, with hands careful to neither wound no pollute.

They had...finished their lives before their death - which is not always the end of life and often comes long before the end.

Next to the wound, what women make best is the bandage.

I did not want to be taken for a fool-the typical French reason for performing the worst of deeds without remorse.