There is no such thing as "natural law": this expression is nothing but old nonsense... Prior to laws, what is natural is only the strength of the lion, or the need of the creature suffering from hunger or cold, in short, need.

When you want to court a woman, court her sister first

I think being condemned to death is the only real distinction," said Mathilde. "It is the only thing which cannot be bought.

The pleasures of love are always in proportion to our fears.

If you want to be witty, work on your character and say what you think on every occasion.

People who have been made to suffer by certain things cannot be reminded of them without a horror which paralyses every other pleasure, even that to be found in reading a story.

In love, unlike most other passions, the recollection of what you have had and lost is always better than what you can hope for in the future.