I felt once more how simple and frugal a thing is happiness: a glass of wine, a roast chestnut, a wretched little brazier, the sound of the sea. Nothing else.
I hope nothing. I fear nothing. I am free.
True teachers are those who use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to cross; then, having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging them to create their own.
God changes his appearance every second. Blessed is the man who can recognize him in all his disguises.
If a woman sleeps alone it puts a shame on all men. God has a very big heart, but there is one sin He will not forgive. If a woman calls a man to her bed and he will not go.
A man needs a little madness, or else... he never dares cut the rope and be free.
Since we cannot change reality, let us change the eyes which see reality.
You can knock on a deaf man's door forever.
The only thing I know is this: I am full of wounds and still standing on my feet.
I said to the almond tree, 'Sister, speak to me of God.' And the almond tree blossomed.
Life is trouble. Only death is not. To be alive is to undo your belt and *look* for trouble.
You have your brush, you have your colors, you paint the paradise, then in you go.
Happy is the man, I thought, who, before dying, has the good fortune to sail the Aegean sea.
Every man has his folly, but the greatest folly of all … is not to have one.
For I realize today that it is a mortal sin to violate the great laws of nature. We should not hurry, we should not be impatient, but we should confidently obey the eternal rhythm.
The highest point a man can attain is not Knowledge, or Virtue, or Goodness, or Victory, but something even greater, more heroic and more despairing: Sacred Awe!
Reach what you cannot
All those who actually live the mysteries of life haven't the time to write, and all those who have the time don't live them! D'you see?
We come from a dark abyss, we end in a dark abyss, and we call the luminous interval life.
You have everything but one thing: madness. A man needs a little madness or else - he never dares cut the rope and be free.
Let your youth have free reign, it won't come again, so be bold and no repenting.
Beauty is merciless. You do not look at it, it looks at you and does not forgive.
What a strange machine man is! You fill him with bread, wine, fish, and radishes, and out comes sighs, laughter, and dreams.
Every perfect traveler always creates the country where he travels.
When everyone drowns and I'm the only one to escape, God is protecting me. When everyone else is saved and I'm the only one to drown, God is protecting me then too.
When I encounter a sunrise, a painting, a woman, or an idea that makes my heart bound like a young calf, then I know I am standing in front of happiness.
Man is able, and has the duty, to reach the furthest point on the road he has chosen. Only by means of hope can we attain what is beyond hope.
Only one woman exists in this world, one woman with countless faces.
My principle anguish and the source of all my joys and sorrows from my youth onward has been the incessant, merciless battle between the spirit and the flesh.
My entire soul is a cry, and all my work is a commentary on that cry.
