Beneath many acts that are thought ridiculous there lie wise and weighty motives.[Il y a une infinité de conduites qui paraissent ridicules, et dont les raisons cachées sont très sages et très solides.]
Beauty has as many meanings as man has moods. Beauty is the symbol of symbols. Beauty reveals everything, because it expresses nothing. When it shows us itself, it shows us the whole fiery-coloured world.
As long as war is regarded as wicked, it will always have its fascination. When it is looked upon as vulgar, it will cease to be popular.
All our knowledge has its origin in our perceptions.[Ogni nostra cognizione prencipia da sentimenti.]
After all, perhaps dirt isn’t really so unhealthy as one is brought up to believe!
Absinthe: After the first glass, you see things as you wish they were. After the second, you see them as they are not. Finally, you see things as they really are, and that is the most horrible thing in the world.
A great many men are mad, and no one knows it. They do not know it themselves.
A clue of two feet long is every bit as valuable as one measuring two millimetres! But it is the romantic idea that all important clues must be infinitesimal.
‘Tis best to weigh the enemy more mighty than he seems.
