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.

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

To seem sorrowful is not in good taste: You're supposed to seem bored.

Because one has little fear of shocking vanity in Italy, people adopt an intimate tone very quickly and discuss personal things.

I no longer find such pleasure in that preeminently good society, of which I was once so fond. It seems to me that beneath a cloak of clever talk it proscribes all energy, all originality. If you are not a copy, people accuse you of being ill-mannered.

A woman of generous character will sacrifice her life a thousand times over for her lover, but will break with him for ever over a question of pride.

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