And therein lies the whole of man's plight. Human time does not turn in a circle; it runs ahead in a straight line. That is why man cannot be happy: happiness is the longing for repetition.

Love is a continual interrogation. I don’t know of a better definition of love.

Making love with a woman and sleeping with a woman are two separate passions, not merely different but opposite. Love does not make itself felt in the desire for copulation (a desire that extends to an infinite number of women) but in the desire for shared sleep (a desire limited to one woman).

Physical love is unthinkable without violence.

She regarded books as the emblems of secret brotherhood. A man with this sort of library couldn't possibly hurt her.

People are always shouting they want to create a better future. It's not true. The future is an apathetic void of no interest to anyone.

The greater the ambiguity, the greater the pleasure.