It is when their age of passions is past that great men produce their masterpieces, just as it is after volcanic eruptions that the soil is most fertile.

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.

It is said of a lonely man that he does not appreciate the life of society. This is like saying he hates hiking because he dislikes walking in thick forest on a dark night.

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

We gild our medicines with sweets; why not clothe truth and morals in peasant garments as well?

Eminence without merit earns deference without esteem.

In living and in seeing other men, the heart must break or become as bronze.