Quote #23
A good poet is of no more use to his country than a good petanque player.
More from Paul Valery
- A businessman is a hybrid of a dancer and a calculator.
- A man who is 'of sound mind' is one who keeps the inner madman under lock and key.
- Politics is the art of preventing people from taking part in affairs which properly concern them.
- A poem is never finished; it's always an accident that puts a stop to it-that is to say, gives it to the public.
- Politics is the art of stopping people from minding their own business.
- Ma main se sent touchee aussi bien qu'elle touche ; reel veut dire cela, et rien de plus.
- Politeness is organized indifference.
- Modern man no longer works at what cannot be abbreviated.