To be loved at first sight, a man should have at the same time something to respect and something to pity in his face.

A novel is like a bow, and the violin that produces the sound is the reader's soul.

The first virtue of a young man today - that is, for the next fifty years perhaps, as long as we live in fear, and religion has regained its powers - is to be incapable of enthusiasm and not to have much in the way of brains.

Jean Jacques Rousseauis nothing but a fool in my eyes when he takes it upon himself to criticise society; he did not understand it, and approached it with the heart of an upstart flunkey.... For all his preaching a Republic and the overthrow of monarchical titles, the upstart is mad with joy if a Duke alters the course of his after-dinner stroll to accompany one of his friends.

Life is too short, and the time we waste in yawning never can be regained.

One-half, the finest half, of life is hidden from the man who does not love with passion.

Pleasure is often spoiled by describing it.