The function of memory is not only to preserve, but also to throw away. If you remembered everything from your entire life, you would be sick.

At most, recognizing that our history was inspired by many tales we now recognize as false should make us alert, ready to call to constantly into question the very tale we believe true, because the criterion of the wisdom of the community is based on constant awareness of the fallibility of our learning.

I like nicotine because it excites my brain and helps me work.

The Devil is not the Prince of Matter; the Devil is the arrogance of the spirit, faith without smile, truth that is never seized by doubt. The Devil is grim because he knows where he is going, and, in moving, he always returns whence he came.

The French, the Italians, the Germans, the Spanish and the English have spent centuries killing each other.

I love the secrecy of writing fiction. When I write a novel, I don't tell anybody what I'm doing. I'm living in my private world. And it's a great sensation.

There is only one thing that you write for yourself, and that is a shopping list.