I know of only one rule: style cannot be too clear , too simple .

La politique au milieu des intérêts d’imagination, c’est un coup de pistolet au milieu d’un concert . Politics in the middle of things concerning the imagination are like a pistol shot in the middle of a concert.

Un roman est un miroir qui se promène sur une grande route .

Every true passion thinks only of itself.

Women are always eagerly on the lookout for any emotion.

Prudery is a kind of avarice, the worst of all.

The more one pleases everybody, the less one pleases profoundly.

To be loved at first sight, a man should have at the same time something to respect and something to pity in his face.

Every great action is extreme when it is undertaken. Only after it has been accomplished does it seem possible to those creatures of more common stuff.

All religions are founded on the fear of the many and the cleverness of the few.