“To succeed in the world it is not enough to be stupid - one must also be polite.”

“It is not enough to conquer; one must learn to seduce.”

“Never having been able to succeed in the world, he took his revenge by speaking ill of it.”

“The only reward to be expected from the cultivation of literature is contempt if one fails and and hatred if one succeeds.”

“It must also be noted that until the present time this malady, like religious controversy, has been wholly confined to the continent of Europe.”

“Despite the enormous quantity of books, how few people read! And if one reads profitably, one would realize how much stupid stuff the vulgar herd is content to swallow every day.”

“I have wanted to kill myself a hundred times, but somehow I am still in love with life. This ridiculous weakness is perhaps one of our more stupid melancholy propensities, for is there anything more stupid than to be eager to go on carrying a burden which one would gladly throw away, to loathe one’s very being and yet to hold it fast, to fondle the snake that devours us until it has eaten our hearts away?”