“We must not touch our idols; the gilt sticks to our fingers.”

“The denigration of those we love always detaches us from them in some degree. Never touch your idols: the gilding will stick to your fingers.”

“Never touch your idols: the gilding will stick to your fingers."(Il ne faut pas toucher aux idoles: la dorure en reste aux mains.)”

“We must laugh and cry, enjoy and suffer, in a word, vibrate to our full capacity … I think that’s what being really human means.”

“Everyone, either from modesty or egotism, hides away the best and most delicate of his soul’s possessions; to gain the esteem of others, we must only ever show our ugliest sides; this is how we keep ourselves on the common level”

“How we keep these dead souls in our hearts. Each one of us carries within himself his necropolis.”

“At last she sighed."But the most wretched thing — is it not? — is to drag out, as I do, a useless existence. If our pains were only of some use to someone, we should find consolation in the thought of the sacrifice.”