In the first place, [his eyes] never laughed when he laughed. Have you ever noticed this peculiarity some people have? It is either the sign of an evil nature or of a profound and lasting sorrow.

Love, like fire, goes out without fuel.

We practically always excuse things when we understand them

One should never spurn a penitent criminal: in his despair he may become twice as much a criminal as before.

It is sad to see a young man's fondest hopes and dreams shattered when the rose-colured veil is plucked away and he sees the actions and feelings of men for what they are. But he still has the hope of replacing his old illusions with others, just as fleeting, but also just as sweet.

Passions are merely ideas in their initial stage.

O vanity! you are the lever by means of which Archimedes wished to lift the earth!