Guy de Maupassant

A sick thought can devour the body's flesh more than fever or consumption.

Every government has as much of a duty to avoid war as a ship's captain has to avoid a shipwreck.

The simplest of women are wonderful liars who can extricate themselves from the most difficult dilemmas with a skill bordering on genius.

The essence of life is the smile of round female bottoms, under the shadow of cosmic boredom.

Patriotism is a kind of religion; it is the egg from which wars are hatched.

It is the lives we encounter that make life worth living.

It is better to be unhappy in love than unhappy in marriage, but some people manage to be both.