The individuals who seem to us most outstanding, who are honored with the name of genius, are those who have proposed to enact the fate of all humanity in their personal existences.

The ideal of happiness has always taken material form in the house, whether cottage or castle; it stands for permanence and separation from the world.

The arrogance of some Christians would close heaven to them if, to their misfortune, it existed.

That a whole part of the middle class detests me... is utterly normal. I would be troubled if the contrary were true.

When Goya was 80 he drew an ancient man propped on two sticks, with a great mass of white hair and beard all over his face, and the inscription, "I am still learning."

Harmony between two individuals is never granted-it has to be conquered indefinitely.

Literature is born when something in life goes slightly adrift.