There is something dark and wintry about the atmosphere of the later Middle Ages.

There is something dark and wintry about the atmosphere of the later Middle Ages.

In sheer genius Pascal ranks among the very greatest writers who have lived upon this earth. And his genius was not simply artistic; it displayed itself no less in his character and in the quality of his thought.

Though, with the ascendancy of Louis, the political power of the nobles finally came to an end, France remained, in the whole complexion of her social life, completely aristocratic.

English dramatic literature is, of course, dominated by Shakespeare; and it is almost inevitable that an English reader should measure the value of other poetic drama by the standards which Shakespeare has already implanted in his mind.

When Louis XIV assumed the reins of government France suddenly and wonderfully came to her maturity; it was as if the whole nation had burst into splendid flower.

In the literature of France Moliere occupies the same kind of position as Cervantes in that of Spain, Dante in that of Italy, and Shakespeare in that of England. His glory is more than national - it is universal.

With a very few exceptions, every word in the French vocabulary comes straight from the Latin.

When the French nation gradually came into existence among the ruins of the Roman civilization in Gaul, a new language was at the same time slowly evolved.

In pure literature, the writers of the eighteenth century achieved, indeed, many triumphs; but their great, their peculiar, triumphs were in the domain of thought.

Unlike the majority of the writers of his age, La Rochefoucauld was an aristocrat; and this fact gives a peculiar tone to his work.

Discretion is not the better part of biography.

During this earlier period of his activity Voltaire seems to have been trying - half unconsciously, perhaps - to discover and to express the fundamental quality of his genius.

Ignorance is the first requisite of the historian - ignorance, which simplifies and clarifies, which selects and omits, with a placid perfection unattainable by the highest art.

The history of the Victorian Age will never be written: we know too much about it.

The old interests of aristocracy - the romance of action, the exalted passions of chivalry and war - faded into the background, and their place was taken by the refined and intimate pursuits of peace and civilization.

The genius of the French language, descended from its single Latin stock, has triumphed most in the contrary direction - in simplicity, in unity, in clarity, and in restraint.

Modern as the style of Pascal's writing is, his thought is deeply impregnated with the spirit of the Middle Ages. He belonged, almost equally, to the future and to the past.

The stability and peace which seemed to be so firmly established by the brilliant monarchy of Francis I vanished with the terrible outbreak of the Wars of Religion.

Englishmen have always loved Moliere.

How far the existence of the Academy has influenced French literature, either for good or for evil, is an extremely dubious question.

But Racine's extraordinary powers as a writer become still more obvious when we consider that besides being a great poet he is also a great psychologist.

The amateur is very rare in French literature - as rare as he is common in our own.

And there are lots of drug companies that are working on cure or medicine.

Everybody wants respect. In their own way, three-year-olds would like respect, and acknowledgment, in their terms.

Being an actor means asking people to look at you. I guess I accept that. But it's a profession in which the job is to show another world and other people. You may access it through bits of yourself, and your imagination and experience, but actually, in the end, you're not playing yourself.

This is what marriage really means: helping one another to reach the full status of being persons, responsible beings who do not run away from life.

I come from a line of self-motivated, determined folk - not grand, not high society, but no-nonsense, family-minded go-getters.

There is never time in the future in which we will work out our salvation. The challenge is in the moment; the time is always now.

Pricey oil makes clear that wealth really is energy in various forms.

Never promise to make pie and fail to deliver on that promise.

I believe that restricting the rights of law-abiding gun owners will not prevent a deranged individual or criminal from obtaining and misusing firearms to commit violence.

I was really educating myself on the environment, but I didn't realize it was so connected to politics, connected to globalization.

Cry me a river, build a bridge, and get over it.

The promise of intimacy is also its risk: the more intimacy two people share, the more power they give to each other to cause hurt.

I think we are definitely suffering from an information overload, but I believe that there is going to be better and better ways of organizing that information and processing it so that it will enhance your daily life.

As an actor, I am only excited about doing good work - be it in mainstream Hindi cinema, Hollywood, a French film, or a Marathi movie.

I never want people to feel like they aren't gay enough or straight enough. It's about what's in your heart.

If God listened to the prayers of men, all men would quickly have perished: for they are forever praying for evil against one another.

While I encourage people to save 100% down for a home, a mortgage is the one debt that I don't frown upon.

Judicious absence is a weapon.

I know 'Vikings' isn't really based in magic, but it goes back to Old World spirituality and different religions, and a lot of voodoo.

My mother and I never got along, not even when I was a child.

I guess my view of America is of a real bighearted country, real compassionate.

I choose things by how they resonate in my heart.

I could not write about 'ordinary people' because I am not in the least interested in them.

If you're with someone, it's because you're moving in the same direction, and you both are looking for the same thing. Both of you have to share the same concept of what a relationship means.