Jesus wept; Voltaire smiled. From that divine tear and from that human smile is derived the grace of present civilization.

That men saw his mask, but the bishop saw his face. That men saw his life, but the bishop saw his conscience.

How did it happen that their lips came together? How does it happen that birds sing, that snow melts, that the rose unfolds, that the dawn whitens behind the stark shapes of trees on the quivering summit of the hill? A kiss, and all was said.

Doing nothing is happiness for children and misery for old men.

To introduce a new play only six weeks after another has been banned is also a way to speak one's piece to the government. It proves that art and liberty can grow back in one night under the clumsy foot which crushes them.

A day will come when markets, open to trade, and minds, open to ideas, will become the sole battlefield.

There are moments when a rope's end, a pole, the branch of the tree, is life itself, and it is a frightful thing to see a living being lose his hold upon it, and fall like a ripe fruit.