Love is the exchange of two fantasies and the contact of two skins.

The best philosophical attitude to adopt towards the world is a union of the sarcasm of gaiety with the indulgence of contempt.

There is a melancholy that stems from greatness

All passions are exaggerated, otherwise they would not be passions.

Calumny is like the wasp which worries you, and which it is not best to try to get rid of unless you are sure of slaying it; for otherwise it returns to the charge more furious than ever.

Swallow a toad in the morning and you will encounter nothing more disgusting the rest of the day.

One must not hope to be more than one can be.