“I think being condemned to death is the only real distinction,” said Mathilde. “It is the only thing which cannot be bought.”

Every true passion thinks only of itself.

I do not feel I have wisdom enough yet to love what is ugly.

A wise woman never yields by appointment. It should always be an unforeseen happiness.

I see but one rule: to be clear. If I am not clear, all my world crumbles to nothing.

When intimacy followed love in Italy there were no longer any vain pretensions between two lovers.

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.

All religions are founded on the fear of the many and the cleverness of the few.

Logic is neither an art nor a science but a dodge.

Only great minds can afford a simple style.

If you think of paying court to the men in power, your eternal ruin is assured.

Napoleon was indeed the man sent by God to help the youth of France! Who is to take his place?

The pleasures of love are always in proportion to our fears.

The first qualification for a historian is to have no ability to invent.

Prudery is a kind of avarice, the worst of all.

To describe happiness is to diminish it.

Friendship has its illusions no less than love.