Anatole France

"The human mind cannot be absolutely destroyed by the human body, but it can be wounded most grievously."

"Love is the only thing that can make the blind see and the deaf hear."

"To accomplish great things, we must not only act but also dream; not only plan but also believe."

"The talent of a mass writer consists in the ability to please without any quality of excellence."

"When a man is no longer troubled by the mosquitoes in his room, he is no longer troubled by anything."

"The law was made by the wise for the protection of fools, but fools will always find ways around it."

"I would prefer even to fail with honor than to win by cheating."

"The greatest misfortune that can happen to a man is to lose his sense of humor."

"A man is not necessarily intelligent because he has plenty of money. But money certainly helps."

"The cooking goose hisses in the pot when it realizes it is being cooked, but it is too late."

"To be forgotten is the only death not preceded by suffering."

"Knowledge is the only instrument of production that cannot be taken away."

"The mediocre mind is incapable of appreciating the greatness of the exceptional mind."

"Providence provides for the sparrow, but the sparrow must still look for food."

"In the Middle Ages, manuscripts were said to be corrupted in the hands of the copyist, but they were improved by accident."

"Cruelty is the only passion truly satisfying to human nature."

"It is not so much what goes in the mouth as what comes out that matters."

"The mind is of very slow growth and very sudden decay."

"To become immortal, one must create things that will outlive oneself."

"The truth, sir, is a horse that will not tolerate the saddle. You must ride it yourself or let it alone."

"Illness is the most hated of all things, yet it teaches us what health is."

"The imagination is the great river of the mind. Let it flow unimpeded."

"Peace is a period of cheating between two wars."

"Existence is a series of footnotes to a large work that has been lost."

"The artist borrows from nature but does not copy it."

"I respect him as a historian, but I think he was not a good writer."

"In science, there is no escape from the universal law."

"One must love your neighbor as yourself, but not more, for that would be excessive."

"The worst form of government is the one you are currently living under."

"Time is the great healer, but not before it is the great wounding agent."