Quotes from Anatole France

In truth man is made rather to eat ices than to pore over old texts.

Existence would be intolerable if we were never to dream.

Armenia is dying, but it will survive. The little blood that it still has left is precious blood that will give birth to a heroic generation. A nation that does not want to die, does not die.

Never lend books - nobody ever returns them; the only books I have in my library are those which people have lent me.

I do not know any reading more easy, more fascinating, more delightful than a catalogue.

And the thing has been said and said well, have no scruple. Take it and copy it.

The good critic is he who narrates the adventures of his soul among masterpieces.

The mania of thinking renders one unfit for every activity.

Our passions are ourselves.

Lack of understanding is a great power. Sometimes it enables men to conquer the world.

A writer is rarely so well inspired as when he talks about himself.

The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread.

One must never lose time in vainly regretting the past or in complaining against the changes which cause us discomfort, for change is the essence of life.

Simple style is like white light. It is complex, but its complexity is not obvious.

The future is hidden even from those who make it.

It is human nature to think wisely and to act in an absurd fashion.

I prefer the errors of enthusiasm to the indifference of wisdom.

War will disappear only when men shall take no part whatever in violence and shall be ready to suffer every persecution that their abstention will bring them. It is the only way to abolish war.

If fifty million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.

It is better to understand little than to misunderstand a lot.

Man is a rational animal. He can think up a reason for anything he wants to believe.

He flattered himself on being a man without any prejudices; and this pretension itself is a very great prejudice.

The average man does not know what to do with this life, yet wants another one which will last forever.

Intelligent women always marry fools