Quotes from Paul Claudel

We must not seek happiness in peace, but in conflict.

In a word, poetry can not exist without emotion, or, if you will, without a movement of the soul which regulates the words.

It is fortunate that diplomats have long noses since they usually cannot see beyond them.

Intelligence is nothing without delight.

Time: all things consume it, love alone makes use of it.

Truth has nothing to do with the number of people it convinces.

When man tries to imagine Paradise on earth, the immediate result is a very respectable Hell.

Truth has nothing to do with the number of people it convinces.

L'ordre est le plaisir de la raison; mais le désordre est le délice de l'imagination

There are two ways to shine: to reflect light or produce it.

Gentlemen, in the little moment that remains to us between the crisis and the catastrophe, we may as well drink a glass of champagne.

Youth was not made for pleasure, but for heroism.

God did not come to do away with suffering; he did not even come to explain it. He came to fill it with his presence.

J'entends Des mots Rapides, uniques, Sans lèvres, sans son, sans sens, Tels que ceux formés par l'esprit qui rêve. Ce lieu n'est point vide, mais il est plein d'âmes.

Le temps est le péché de l'éternité.

Il y a une chose plus triste à perdre que la vie, c'est la raison de vivre, Plus triste que de perdre ses biens, c'est de perdre son espérance.

Le mal même comporte son bien qu'il ne faut pas laisser perdre

Order is the pleasure of the reason; but disorder is the delight of the imagination.

La tentación del hombre moderno es la pretensión de no necesitar de Dios para poder hacer el bien

There are two ways to shine: to reflect light or produce it.

La juventud no está hecha para el placer, sino para el heroísmo

Il est facile de se tourner vers Dieu quand le reste n'est plus là.

Il faut bien se tourner vers Dieu quand le reste n'est plus là.

All that passes is raised to the dignity of expression; all that happens is raised to the dignity of meaning. Everything is either symbol or parable.