Bad company is as instructive as licentiousness. One makes up for the loss of one's innocence with the loss of one's prejudices.

If there is one realm in which it is essential to be sublime, it is in wickedness. You spit on a petty thief, but you can't deny a kind of respect for the grea…

People praise virtue, but they hate it, they run away from it. It freezes you to death, and in this world you've got to keep your feet warm.

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

Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est.

You can lead people to truth, but you can't make them understand it: the story of my youth, as seen from the present.

There is nothing more difficult for a truly creative painter than to paint a rose, because before he can do so he has first to forget all the roses that were e…