First love is a kind of vaccination which saves a man from catching the complaint the second time. time
To those who have exhausted politics, nothing remains but abstract thought. politics
Nothing so fortifies a friendship as a belief on the part of one friend that he is superior to the other. friendship
Behind every great fortune lies a great crime. great
Laws are spider webs through which the big flies pass and the little ones get caught. legal
When Religion and Royalty are swept away, the people will attack the great, and after the great, they will fall upon the rich. great & religion
Towns find it as hard as houses of business to rise again from ruin. business
One should believe in marriage as in the immortality of the soul. anniversary & marriage
The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness. forgiveness
The majority of husbands remind me of an orangutan trying to play the violin. marriage
A mother's happiness is like a beacon, lighting up the future but reflected also on the past in the guise of fond memories. future, happiness & Mother's Day
A mother who is really a mother is never free. parenting
Men die in despair, while spirits die in ecstasy. men
No man should marry until he has studied anatomy and dissected at least one woman. marriage
Power is action the electoral principle is discussion. No political action is possible when discussion is permanently established. power
Great love affairs start with Champagne and end with tisane. great
If we could but paint with the hand what we see with the eye. art
Love is the poetry of the senses. love & poetry
There is no such thing as a great talent without great will power. great & power
The most virtuous women have something within them, something that is never chaste. women
There are some women whose pregnancy would make some sly bachelor smile. smile & women
A woman knows the face of the man she loves as a sailor knows the open sea. love
Political liberty, the peace of a nation, and science itself are gifts for which Fate demands a heavy tax in blood! peace & science
Suicide, moreover, was at the time in vogue in Paris: what more suitable key to the mystery of life for a skeptical society? society & time
The art of motherhood involves much silent, unobtrusive self-denial, an hourly devotion which finds no detail too minute. art
What is art? Nature concentrated. art & nature
The motto of chivalry is also the motto of wisdom to serve all, but love only one. love & wisdom
We exaggerate misfortune and happiness alike. We are never as bad off or as happy as we say we are. happiness
Many men are deeply moved by the mere semblance of suffering in a woman they take the look of pain for a sign of constancy or of love. men
It is only in the act of nursing that a woman realizes her motherhood in visible and tangible fashion it is a joy of every moment. mom
The smallest flower is a thought, a life answering to some feature of the Great Whole, of whom they have a persistent intuition. great
There is something great and terrible about suicide. great
A young bride is like a plucked flower but a guilty wife is like a flower that had been walked over. wedding
Small natures require despotism to exercise their sinews, as great souls thirst for equality to give play to their heart. equality & great
Ideas devour the ages as men are devoured by their passions. When man is cured, human nature will cure itself perhaps. men & nature
Society bristles with enigmas which look hard to solve. It is a perfect maze of intrigue. society
Love may be or it may not, but where it is, it ought to reveal itself in its immensity. love
I do not regard a broker as a member of the human race. finance
At fifteen, beauty and talent do not exist there can only be promise of the coming woman. beauty
Children, dear and loving children, can alone console a woman for the loss of her beauty. alone & beauty
Nature makes only dumb animals. We owe the fools to society. nature & society
Passion is universal humanity. Without it religion, history, romance and art would be useless. art, history & religion
Equality may perhaps be a right, but no power on earth can ever turn it into a fact. equality & power
Marriage must incessantly contend with a monster that devours everything: familiarity. marriage
Clouds symbolize the veils that shroud God. God
Wisdom is that apprehension of heavenly things to which the spirit rises through love. wisdom
Death unites as well as separates it silences all paltry feeling. death
Finance, like time, devours its own children. finance
A good husband is never the first to go to sleep at night or the last to awake in the morning. good, marriage & morning
Power is not revealed by striking hard or often, but by striking true. power
All humanity is passion without passion, religion, history, novels, art would be ineffectual. art, history & religion
Nobody loves a woman because she is handsome or ugly, stupid or intelligent. We love because we love. love
A grocer is attracted to his business by a magnetic force as great as the repulsion which renders it odious to artists. business & great