Something new seemed to be accomplishing itself within him, and one of the things that went with it was a kind of craving for people.
Even then, if the cliff, chosen and cherished from long ago, had not been so picturesque, if it had been merely a flat, prosaic bank, the suicide might not have taken place at all.
Send me the article beforehand, don’t forget, and try and let it be free from nonsense. Facts, facts, facts. And above all, let it be short. Good-bye.
It may be that you ought to thank God; why, for all you know he may be preserving you for something. Be of great heart and fear less.
The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to such a pass that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others.
As a general rule, people, even the wicked, are much more naive and simple-hearted than we suppose. And we ourselves are, too.
The only gain of civilisation for mankind is the greater capacity for variety of sensations – and absolutely nothing more.
Man is bound to lie about himself.
There is no sin, and there can be no sin on all the earth, which the Lord will not forgive to the truly repentant! Man cannot commit a sin so great as to exhaust the infinite love of God. Can there be a sin which could exceed the love of God?
Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love everything, you will perceive the divine mystery in things. Once you perceive it, you will begin to comprehend it better every day. And you will come at last to love the whole world with an all-embracing love.
Being in love doesn’t mean loving.
The best way to keep a prisoner from escaping is to make sure he never knows he’s in prison.
I believe the best definition of man is the ungrateful biped.
My friend, the truth is always implausible, did you know that? To make the truth more plausible, it’s absolutely necessary to mix a bit of falsehood with it. People have always done so.
To be in love is not the same as loving. You can be in love with a woman and still hate her.
Learning to love is hard and we pay dearly for it. It takes hard work and a long apprenticeship, for it is not just for a moment that we must learn to love, but forever.
From a hundred rabbits you can’t make a horse.
Woe to the man who offends a small child!
I swear to you, sirs, that excessive consciousness is a disease – a genuine, absolute disease.
He was one of the numerous and varied legion of dullards, of half-animated abortions, conceited, half-educated coxcombs, who attach themselves to the idea most in fashion only to vulgarize it and who caricature every cause they serve, however sincerely.