“They were completely vague. They expressed everything and nothing. 'It is the Æolian harp of style,' thought Julien. 'Amid the most lofty thoughts about annihilation, death, the infinite, etc., I can see no reality save a shocking fear of ridicule.”

“If one were to live his life fully and completely were to give form to every feeling, expression to every thought, reality to every dream.”

“Everything about him was turning out to be so much more accessible than she had thought. Spark by spark, the fire of the lofty star was going out, revealing a warm and completely lovable earthling under its glare.”

“He lost himself in a maze of thoughts that were rendered vague by his lack of words to express them. Frowning, he tried again.”

“There can be no rebirth without a dark night of the soul, a total annihilation of all that you believed in and thought that you were.”

“These gentlemen, although of the highest nobility,' thought Julien, 'are not in the least boring like the people who come to dine with M. de La Mole; and I can see why,' he added a moment later,'they are not ashamed to be indecent.”