Quotes from Jean Giono

Nous avons lutté contre le corps de la colline, il faut écraser la tête.

There are also times in life when a person has to rush off in pursuit of hopefulness.

Boredom is the most horrible of wolves.

Remember, all of man's happiness is in the little valleys. Tiny little ones. Small enough to call from one side to the other.

I have always hated crowds. I like deserts, prisons, and monasteries. I have discovered, too, that there are fewer idiots at 3000 meters above sea level than down below.

And he told stories about the stars above, about the earth below. He told them to make the night pass, and also because his heart was all reflections in which the soul of the world moved.

I should like to write about what happens when fictive people encounter and are embellished by real people.

For a human character to reveal truly exceptional qualities, one must have the good fortune to be able to observe its performance over many years. If this performance is devoid of all egoism, if its guiding motive is unparalleled generosity, if it is absolutely certain that there is no thought of recompense and that, in addition, it has left its visible mark upon the earth, then there can be no mistake.

From the time we began to build houses and cities, since we invented the wheel, we have not advanced one step toward happiness. We have always been in halves. As long as we invent and progress in mechanical things and not in love, we shall not achieve happiness.

Imaginer c'est choisir.

Remember, all of man's happiness is in the little valleys. Tiny little ones. Small enough to call from one side to the other.

Creation seemed to come about in a sort of chain reaction. He did not worry about it; he was determinedly pursuing his task in all its simplicity; but as we went back towards the village I saw water flowing in Brooks that had been dry since the memory of man. This was the most impressive result of chain reaction that I had seen. These dry streams had once, long ago, run with water.

Ce n'est pas la première fois que je veux tuer des mouches avec un canon. C'est la cent millième fois. Cela m'arrive tous les jours et tout le jour. Je prévois toujours le pire et je me démène toujours comme si c'était le pire. Eh ! Prends donc l'habitude de considérer que les choses ordinaires arrivent aussi.

Everything was frozen up and silent that morning. Even the wind was silent, but not really dead. It waved about a little and beat its tail gently against the hard sky. There was no sun yet. The sky was empty. It was all frozen up, like a sheet hanging out in the frost.

Nous sommes trop vêtus de villes et de murs. Nous avons trop l'habitude de nous voir sous notre forme antinaturelle... Nous ne savons plus que nous sommes des animaux libres...

Dans un roman tout s'explique, même le plus mystérieux, surtout le plus mystérieux; non seulement il s'éclaire, mais il éclaire tout le reste. Dans la vie de la route, le plus simple reste mystérieux.

L'été est étincelant et bref. Il s'arrache au printemps en cinq jours, il s'épanouit en vingt, il se convulse en dix et c'est l'automne.

On nous veut avec les stigmates des grandes écoles, je le veux avec les stigmates de la vie.

On comprenait que les hommes pourraient être aussi efficaces que Dieu dans d'autres domaines que la destruction.

Elles étaient en touffes avec des racines d'or, épanouies, enfoncées dans les ténèbres et qui soulevaient des mottes luisantes de nuit. (à propos des étoiles)

The gods of this land are monsters.

Si uno quiere descubrir cualidades realmente excepcionales en el carácter de un ser humano, debe tener el tiempo o la oportunidad de observar su comportamiento durante varios años. Si este comportamiento no es egoísta, si está presidido por una generosidad sin límites, si es tan obvio que no hay afán de recompensa, y además ha dejado una huella visible en la tierra, entonces no cabe equivocación posible.

The Italians are said to be noisy and to gesticulate, but that is a libel dreamed up by the English.

Il était comme ces moines qui sont obligés de faire effort pour s'arracher d'où ils sont et venir où vous êtes; imiter les rires et les mots auxquels vous êtes habitués; avoir la politesse ou le mépris de ne pas trop vous surprendre.