There is one spectacle grander than the sea, that is the sky; there is one spectacle grander than the sky, that is the interior of the soul.

To contemplate is to look at shadows.

As for the bishop, the sight of the guillotine was a great shock to him, from which he recovered only slowly.

Stupidity talks, vanity acts.

He who contemplates the depths of Paris is seized with vertigo. Nothing is more fantastic. Nothing is more tragic. Nothing is more sublime.

The future has many names: For the weak, it means the unattainable. For the fearful, it means the unknown. For the courageous, it means opportunity.

It is sad to tell, but after having tried society, which had caused his misfortune, he tried Providence which created society, and condemned it also.