...one of the traits of genius is not to drag its thought through the rut worn by vulgar minds.

It is the nobility of their style which will make our writers of 1840 unreadable forty years from now.

Life is very short, and it ought not to be spent crawling at the feet of miserable scoundrels.

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

Chélan had acted as imprudently for Julien as he had for himself. He had given him the habit of reasoning correctly, and of not being put off by empty words, but he had neglected to tell him that this habit was a crime in the person of no importance, since every piece of logical reasoning is offensive.

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

The only unhappiness is a life of boredom.