“Passion is univeral humanity. Without it religion history art and romance would be useless.”

“All humanity is passion; without passion, religion, history, novels, art would be ineffectual.”

“Passion is born deaf and dumb.”

“Love is a religion, and its rituals cost more than those of other religions. It goes by quickly and, like a street urchin, it likes to mark its passage by a trail of devastation.”

“Un homme sans passion e sans argent reste maitre de sa personne; mais un maleureux qui aime ne s'appartient plus et ne peut pas se tuer. L'amour nous donne une sorte de religion pour nous-meme, nous respectons en nous une autre vie, il devient alors le plus horibble des malheures avec une espérance, une espérance qui vous fait accepter des tortures”

“However gross a man may be, the minute he expresses a strong and genuine affection, some inner secretion alters his features, animates his gestures, and colors his voice. The stupidest man will often, under the stress of passion, achieve heights of eloquence, in thought if not in language, and seem to move in some luminous sphere. Goriot's voice and gesture had at this moment the power of communication that characterizes the great actor. Are not our finer feelings the poems of the human will?”

“If you decide to join up with me, I want it to be because you're making a rational choice, not because you've been pushed by passion or despair.”