Many men nourish a pride which urges them to conceal their struggles and show themselves only as conquerors.
The response man has the greatest difficulty in tolerating is pity, especially when he warrants it. Hatred is a tonic, it makes one live, it inspires vengeance, but pity kills, it makes our weakness weaker.
Physically, a man is a man for a much longer time than a woman is a woman.
He has great tranquility of heart who cares neither for the praises nor the fault-finding of men.
Vice is perhaps a desire to learn everything.
Rare is the man who suffers no remorse as he passes from the state of confidant to that of rival.
Perhaps it is only human nature to inflict suffering on anything that will endure suffering, whether by reason of its genuine humility, or indifference, or sheer helplessness.
What a thing of fantasy a woman may become after dusk.
And he, like many jaded people, had few pleasures left in life save good food and drink.
You’re a fine fastidious young man, as proud as a lion, as gentle as a girl. You’d make a good catch for the devil.
Good befalls us while we sleep, sometimes.
Do you know how a man makes his way here? By brilliant genius or by skilful corruption. You must either cut your way through these masses of men like a cannon ball, or steal among them like a plague.
One can imagine the look the two lovers exchanged; it was like a flame, for virtuous lovers have not a shred of hypocrisy.
Our heart is a treasury; if you pour out all its wealth at once, you are bankrupt.
I prefer thought to action, an idea to a transaction, contemplation to activity.
If the human heart sometimes finds moments of pause as it ascends the slopes of affection, it rarely halts on the way down.
Love is a religion, and its rituals cost more than those of other religions. It goes by quickly and, like a street urchin, it likes to mark its passage by a trail of devastation.
I’m a great poet. I don’t put my poems on paper: they consist of actions and feelings.
True love rules especially through memory.
Remorse is impotent; it will repeat its faults. Repentance only is a true force; it puts an end to everything.