Every day I add to the list of things I refuse to discuss. The wiser the man, the longer the list.

I only study the things I like; I apply my mind only to matters that interest me. They'll be useful-or useless-to me or to others in due course, I'll be given-or not given-the opportunity of benefiting from what I've learned. In any case, I'll have enjoyed the inestimable advantage of doing things I like doing and following my own inclinations.

We leave unmolested those who set the fire to the house, and prosecute those who sound the alarm.

Remorse turns us against ourselves.

Love is more pleasant than marriage for the same reason that novels are more amusing than history.

It must be admitted that there are some parts of the soul which we must entirely paralyse before we can live happily in this world.

It is children only who enjoy the present; their elders either live on the memory of the past or the hope of the future.