Quotes from Honore de Balzac

Ba?kalar?n?n mutlulu?u art?k mutlu olamayacak olanlar?n tesellisidir.

I know a newspaper editor," Lousteau went on, addressing Gatien, "who, anxious to forefend a grievous fate, will take no stories but such as tell the tale of lovers burned, hewn, pounded, or cut to pieces; of wives boiled, fried, or baked; he takes them to his wife to read, hoping that sheer fear will keep her faithful — satisfied with that humble alternative, poor man! 'You see, my dear, to what the smallest error may lead you!

In journalism," said Lousteau, "everything that is probable is true. That is an axiom.

My dress, which dazzled me as I paraded alone in my white-and-gold drawing-room, was barely noticeable amidst the gorgeous finery of most of the married women. Each had her band of faithful followers, and they all watched each other askance. A few were radiant in triumphant beauty, and amongst these was my mother. A girl at a ball is a mere dancing-machine — a thing of no consequence whatever.

Existe en todos los sentimientos humanos una flor primitiva, engendrada por un noble entusiasmo, que va marchitándose poco a poco hasta que la felicidad no es ya sino un recuerdo, y la gloria una mentira.

Rosalie!' said I one evening. "'Your servant, sir?' "'You are not married?' She started a little. "'Oh! there is no lack of men if ever I take a fancy to be miserable!' she replied, laughing. She got over her agitation at once; for every woman, from the highest lady to the inn-servant inclusive, has a native presence of mind.

The countess regarded her sons as too ill-trained to admit of the slightest intimacy with their sisters. All communication between the poor children was therefore strictly watched. When the boys came home from school, the count was careful not to keep them in the house. The boys always breakfasted with their mother and sisters, but after that the count took them off to museums, theatres, restaurants, or, during the summer season, into the country.

The common herd of humanity feels an involuntary respect for any person who can rise above it, and is not over-particular as to the means by which they rise.

What a handsome pair! Strange thoughts assail me as it becomes plain to me that these two, so perfectly matched in birth, wealth, and mental superiority, live entirely apart, and have nothing in common but their name. The show of unity is only for the world.

Una mujer bella puede ser ella misma a su antojo; la sociedad le pasa siempre por alto una tontería o una torpeza, mientras que una sola mirada detiene la más magnífica expresión en los labios de una mujer fea, intimida sus ojos, aumenta la poca gracia de sus ademanes, coarta su actitud. Bien sabe que sólo a ella se le prohíbe cometer faltas, que todos le niegan el don de repararlas, y, por lo demás, nadie le proporciona la ocasión de ello.

whatever rung of the social ladder they are perched, when any interest, no matter what, draws them from their own line of obedience and induces them to grasp at power. In their eyes, as in those of politicians, all means to an end are justifiable

El «Et nunc et semper et in secula seculorum» de la liturgia es la divisa de estos sublimes poetas desconocidos, cuyas obras constituyen magníficas epopeyas creadas y perdidas entre dos corazones.

Acaba bugün nas?l kar??layacak?" diye kendi kendime sorarken, o s?ralarda daralmas? kadar aç?lmas? da kolay ruhumun neler çekti?ini anlatamam... Sürekli olarak korku içinde ya?amakt? bu.

Si en aquel semblante se adivinaban los destellos del genio que emprende el vuelo, igualmente se veían las cenizas junto al volcán; y la esperanza se extinguía en un profundo sentimiento de nulidad social, en la que los orígenes oscuros y la falta de fortuna mantienen a tantos espíritus superiores.

Her exclamations, and also her reticences on the subject of her sons, were equal to the most lamenting verses in Jeremiah, and completely deceived the sisters, who supposed their sinful brothers to be doomed to perdition.

Das Glück hat keine Geschichte, und die Erzähler aller Länder haben das so gut begriffen, dass der Satz "Sie wurden glücklich" alle Liebesabenteuer schließt.

Hatred requires too many forces fully armed. None but public bodies can keep alive the sentiment.

Nonetheless, like all truly strong people, his speech was soft, his manners simple, and he was naturally kind.

The marriages in these families are arranged in the cradle, so rigidly are the greatest things settled as well as the smallest. No stranger, no intruder, ever finds his way into one of these houses, and to obtain an introduction for the colonels or officers of title belonging to the first families in France when quartered there,

One single lie destroys the absolute confidence which to some souls is the very foundation of happiness.

Oscar had reached that last quarter of adolescence when little things cause immense joys and immense miseries, — a period when youth prefers misfortune to a ridiculous suit of clothes, and caring nothing for the real interests of life, torments itself about frivolities, about neckcloths, and the passionate desire to appear a man.

tengo más celos de un pensamiento que de todas las mujeres juntas. El amor es inmenso, pero no es infinito, mientras que la ciencia tiene profundidades sin límites a las que yo no podría verte ir solo.

mere boy, who dances badly; besides, he has no fortune. And, after all, papa, none of these people have titles. I want, at least, to be a countess like my mother.

For some time past she had been suspected of being au fond, in spite of appearances, an "original." In the provinces it was not permissible to be original: being original means having ideas that are not understood by others; the provinces demand equality of mind as well as equality of manners and customs.