The ability to fight in circumstances that inspire nothing but despair.
To determine the absolute truth in a dispute is all the easier because it does not exist in nature.
A fact is that which man owes to the world, while fantasy, fiction is that which the world owes to man.
A fanatic is one who takes his own opinion seriously.
A good novel tells the truth about its hero, and a bad one about its author.
While I don't believe we should eat beef without mustard, I am absolutely convinced that today there is a much more serious risk: the desire to eat mustard without beef.
Courage: the strong will to live, being ready to die.
The Christian ideal is not something we strive for and never achieve; it is something we never aim for and which is exceedingly difficult for us to achieve.
Cynicism is related to sentimentality in that a cynical mind is as sensitive as it is sentimental.
It often happens that bad people are animated by good intentions, but even more often, on the contrary, that good people are animated by bad intentions.
Man can claim to be smart, but he cannot claim to be intelligent.
It is the human race to which so many of my readers belong…
Honesty is not respectable, hypocrisy is respectable. Honesty is always ridiculous, because everything around us is ridiculous.
Humanity is not a herd of horses to feed, but a club to join.
The honest poor man can sometimes forget his poverty. An honest rich man never forgets about his wealth.
Weirdness surprises only the common people, but not the weird ones. This is why normal people have so many adventures, while those weirdos are always complaining about boredom.
I have a soft spot for Philistines. They are often right, but I can't explain why.
I came to the conclusion that the optimist thinks everything is beautiful except the pessimist, and the pessimist thinks everything is bad except himself.
I want to love my neighbor, not because he is like me, but precisely because he is different. I want to love the world not as a mirror in which I like to see my own reflection, but as a woman, because it is completely different from me.
I am afraid that from human nature, which I have had the opportunity to observe for so long, you cannot expect anything good.
In ninety-nine cases women act like fools, but in one hundredth case they are more cunning than men.
In life, everyone has to make their own mistakes.
The great advantage of a doctor is that he is not bound to follow his own advice.
Mutual affection between men and women always begins with the amazing illusion that you will always think the same way.
A man in love is a pitiful sight.
Time is such an indeterminate thing. To some, time seems very long. To another, vice versa.
An excellent reputation is the first necessity of a scammer!
Pretending to know something is harder than finding it out.
It's never too late to know the truth.
If a secret is known by more than two people, it is no longer a secret.