Honor� de Balzac
France
20 May 1799 // 18 Aug 1850
Writer
20 May 1799 // 18 Aug 1850
Writer
Quotes
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Generally our confidences move downward rather than upward; in our secret affairs, we employ our inferiors much more than our bettors
For the journalist, anything probable is gospel truth
For certain people, misfortune is a beacon that lights up the dark and baser sides of social life
Fools gain greater advantages through their weakness than intelligent men through their strength. We watch a great man struggling against fate and we do not lift a finger to help him. But we patronize a grocer who is headed for bankruptcy
Envy lurks at the bottom of the human heart, like a viper in its hole
Emulation admires and strives to imitate great actions; envy is only moved to malice
During the great storms of our lives we imitate those captains who jettison their weightiest cargo
Doubt follows white-winged hope with trembling steps
Does not any limit imposed upon one inspire a desire to go beyond it? Does not our keenest suffering arise when our free will is crossed?
Cruelty and fear shake hands together
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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