“Mathilde made an effort to use the more intimate form; she was evidently more attentive to this unusual way of speaking than to what she was saying. This use of the singular form, stripped of the tone of affection, ceased, after a moment, to afford Julien any pleasure, he was astonished at the absence of happiness; finally, in order to feel it, he had recourse to his reason. He saw himself highly esteemed by this girl who was so proud, and never bestowed unrestricted praise; by this line of reasoning he arrived at a gratification of his self-esteem.”

“The more one pleases everybody, the less one pleases profoundly.”

“Friendship has its illusions no less than love.”

“The man of genius is he and he alone who finds such joy in his art that he will work at it come hell or high water.”

“Only great minds can afford a simple style.”

“All religions are founded on the fear of the many and the cleverness of the few.”

“The pleasures of love are always in proportion to our fears.”

“Power, after love, is the first source of happiness.”

“To describe happiness is to diminish it.”

“The more a race is governed by its passions, the less it has acquired the habit of cautious and reasoned argument, the more intense will be its love of music.”

“True love makes the thought of death frequent, easy, without terrors; it merely becomes the standard of comparison, the price one would pay for many things.”