black
grey
blue
red
brown
white

At a distance, we cannot conceive of the authority of a despot who knows all his subjects on sight.

Stendhal

It is with blows dealt by public contempt that a husband kills his wife in the nineteenth century; it is by shutting the doors ofall the drawing-rooms in her face.
STENDHAL

Draw Face Husband Kill Public Room Wife
Man is not free to refuse to do the thing which gives him more pleasure than any other conceivable action.
STENDHAL

Action Freedom Man Pleasure Refusal
But, if I sample this pleasure so prudently and circumspectly, it will no longer be a pleasure.
STENDHAL

Happiness Myself Pleasure Time
Our true passions are selfish.
STENDHAL

One Liner Ourselves Passion Selfish
There is no such thing as “natural law”: this expression is nothing but old nonsense… Prior to laws, what is natural is only the strength of the lion, or the need of the creature suffering from hunger or cold, in short, need.
STENDHAL

Cold Hungry Law Natural Need Strength Suffering
It is better to have a prosaic husband and to take a romantic lover.
STENDHAL

Better Choice Husband Lover Romantic
True love makes the thought of death frequent, easy, without terrors; it merely becomes the standard of comparison, the price one would pay for many things.
STENDHAL

Comparison Death Love Pay Standard Thinking True
Love is like fever; it comes and goes without the will having any part of the process.
STENDHAL

Fever Love Process Willing
One of the traits of genius is not to drag its thought through the rut worn by vulgar minds.
STENDHAL

Drag Genius Mindset Thinking Vulgar
The man of genius is he and he alone who finds such joy in his art that he will work at it come hell or high water.
STENDHAL

Alone Art Genius Himself Man Water
Never had he found himself so close to those terrible weapons of feminine artillery.
STENDHAL

Feminine Himself Terrible Weapon
The idea which tyrants find most useful is the idea of God.
STENDHAL

God Ideas Religion
The pleasures of love are always in proportion to our fears.
STENDHAL

Fear Love Ourselves Proportion
Women are always eagerly on the lookout for any emotion.
STENDHAL

Emotion Search Woman
What is really beautiful must always be true.
STENDHAL

Beautiful True
An English traveller relates how he lived upon intimate terms with a tiger; he had reared it and used to play with it, but always kept a loaded pistol on the table.
STENDHAL

Himself Intimate Live Load Play Relate Travel Weapon

At a distance, we cannot conceive of the authority of a despot who knows all his subjects on sight.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

At a distance, we cannot conceive of the authority of a despot who knows all his subjects on sight.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Stendhal Quotes