Modesty is the delicate form of hypocrisy.

The ever-present phenomenon ceases to exist for our senses. It was a city dweller, or a prisoner, or a blind man suddenly given his sight, who first noted natural beauty.

The woman who loves always smells good.

The pleasure of being a scoundrel can be adequately savored in silence.

Of all the sexual aberrations, perhaps the most peculiar is chastity.

For two thousand years Christianity has been telling us: life is death, death is life; it is high time to consult the dictionary.

To write well, to have style ... is to paint. The master faculty of style is therefore the visual memory. If a writer does not see what he describes-countrysides and figures, movements and gestures-how could he have a style, that is originality?