He had preserved the best part of her and made it his own: the principle of her scent.

Odors have a power of persuasion stronger than that of words, appearances, emotions, or will. The persuasive power of an odor cannot be fended off, it enters into us like breath into our lungs, it fills us up, imbues us totally. There is no remedy for it.

...talent means nothing, while experience, acquired in humility and with hard work, means everything.

He had withdrawn solely for his own personal pleasure, only to be near to himself. No longer distracted by anything external, he basked in his own existence and found it splendid.

He succeeded in being considered totally uninteresting. People left him alone. And that was all he wanted.

He possessed the power. He held it in his hand. A power stronger than the power of money or the power of terror or the power of death: the invincible power to command the love of mankind. There was only one thing that power could not do: it could not make him able to smell himself.

Not a visible enthusiasm but a hidden one, an excitement burning with a cold flame.