It needs a good deal of philosophy not to be mortified by the thought of persons who have voluntarily abandoned everything that for the most of us makes life worth living and are devoid of envy of what they have missed. I have never made up my mind whether they are fools or wise men.

Only mediocre people are at the best all the time.

The subjunctive mood is in its death throes, and the best thing to do is to put it out of its misery as soon as possible.

Our natural egoism leads us to judge people by their relations to ourselves. We want them to be certain things to us, and for us that is what they are; because the rest of them is no good to us, we ignore it.

Make him laugh and he will think you a trivial fellow, but bore him in the right way and your reputation is assured.

There is a sort of man who pays no attention to his good actions, but is tormented by his bad ones. This is the type that most often writes about himself.

The tragedy of love is indifference.