The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has killed a great many philosophers.

Morals are in all countries the result of legislation and government; they are not African or Asian or European: they are good or bad.

Gaiety, a quality of ordinary men. Genius always presupposes some disorder in the machine.

We are all instruments endowed with feeling and memory. Our senses are so many strings that are struck by surrounding objects and that also frequently strike themselves.

The blood of Jesus Christ can cover a multitude of sins, it seems to me.

To attempt the destruction of our passions is the height of folly. What a noble aim is that of the zealot who tortures himself like a madman in order to desire nothing, love nothing, feel nothing, and who, if he succeeded, would end up a complete monster!

The world is the house of the strong. I shall not know until the end what I have lost or won in this place, in this vast gambling den where I have spent more than sixty years, dicebox in hand, shaking the dice.

The pit of a theatre is the one place where the tears of virtuous and wicked men alike are mingled.

Pithy sentences are like sharp nails which force truth upon our memory.

Every man has his dignity. I'm willing to forget mine, but at my own discretion and not when someone else tells me to.