Honor� de Balzac
France
20 May 1799 // 18 Aug 1850
Writer
20 May 1799 // 18 Aug 1850
Writer
Quotes
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Old men are prone to invest the futures of young men with their own past sorrows
Of all emotions, pity is the hardest to endure, especially when it is deserved. Hatred is a tonic, it quickens the spirit, it inspires vengeance; but pity kills the spirit, it intensifies our weaknesses, it cripples us
Nothing is unimportant to a man plunged in despair. He is as credulous as a criminal sentenced to death who listens to a lunatic raving to him about how he can escape through the keyhole
Nothing can afford a woman greater pleasure than to hear tender words of love. The strictest, most devout woman will listen even if she must not answer
Noble hearts are neither jealous nor afraid because jealousy spells doubt and fear spells pettiness
Man's condition is horrible because, no matter what form his happiness may take, it arises from some species of ignorance
Love, according to our contemporary poets, is a privilege which two beings confer upon one another, whereby they may mutually cause one another much sorrow over absolutely nothing
Love knows nothing of modesty
Love is the only passion which suffers neither past nor future
Love is perhaps no more than gratitude for pleasure
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On Anger: "For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind."
Essays
Essays
On Destiny: "Our destiny exercises its influence over us even when, as yet, we have not learned its nature: it is our future that lays down the law of our today."
Human, All Too Human
Human, All Too Human
On Friendship: "A crowd is not company; and faces are but a gallery of pictures; and talk but a tinkling cymbal, where there is no love."
Essays
Essays