“Liberty begets anarchy, anarchy leads to despotism, and despotism brings about liberty once again. Millions of human beings have perished without being able to make any of these systems triumph.”

Love is not only a feeling, it is also an art. A simple word, a sensitive precaution, a mere nothing reveal to a woman the sublime artist who can touch her heart without withering it.

No man has ever yet discovered the way to give friendly advice to any woman, not even to his own wife.

Nobody loves a woman because she is handsome or ugly, stupid or intelligent. We love because we love.

Talent is a flame, but genius is a fire.

Noble passions are like vices: the more they are satisfied, the greater they grow, Mothers and gamblers are insatiable.

Cruelty and fear shake hands together.

The first thing necessary to win the heart of a woman is opportunity.

Love is perhaps no more than gratitude for pleasure.

A woman must be a genius to create a good husband.

A mother who is really a mother is never free.

The press is like a woman: sublime when it lies, it will not let go until it has forced you to believe it. The public, like a foolish husband, always succumbs.

It is quite right what they say: the three most beautiful sights in the world are a ship in full sail, a galloping horse, and a woman dancing.

The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness.

Like hunger, physical love is a necessity. But man’s appetite for amour is never so regular or so sustained as his appetite for the delights of the table.

A naked woman is less dangerous than one who spreads her skirt skillfully to cover and exhibit everything at once.

All happiness depends on courage and work. I have had many periods of wretchedness, but with energy and above all with illusions, I pulled through them all.

This loving person is a person who abhors waste – waste of time, waste of human potential. How much time we waste. As if we were going to live forever.

We spend a lot of time misunderstand understanding.  

Making mistakes means you are perfect at being human.

Society and loved ones will feed you exactly what you want to hear rather than what you need to hear.

The feeling of awed wonder that science can give us is one of the highest experiences of which the human psyche is capable.

Nothing that results in human progress is achieved with unanimous consent. Those that are enlightened before the others are condemned to pursue that light in spite of the others.

Give yourself and everyone else some grace for being human.

We focus on being extraordinary but forget we can always be extra kind.