The Americans are completely stupid. The intellectual level in any single European country is higher than in America.

The absence of the will to live is, alas, not sufficient to make one want to die.

Beds last on an average much longer than marriages.

Why am I popular? I don't know. Is it a mistake? I should think it's a mistake somewhere.

Those who love life do not read. Nor do they go to the movies, actually. No matter what might be said, access to the artistic universe is more or less entirely the preserve of those who are a little fed up with the world.

Life is painful and disappointing. It is useless, therefore, to write new realistic novels. We generally know where we stand in relation to reality and don’t care to know any more.

Tenderness is a deeper instinct than seduction, which is why it is so hard to give up hope.