Anatole France

French novelist (1844 - 1924)

When a thing has been said and well, have no scruple. Take it and copy it.

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

To be willing to die for an idea is to set a rather high price on conjecture.

A person is never happy except at the price of some ignorance.

It is human nature to think wisely and act foolishly.

Nothing spoils a confession like repentance.

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.

A person is never happy except at the price of some ignorance.

People who have no faults are terrible; there is no way to take advantage of them

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

The impotence of God is infinite.

It is by acts and not by ideas that people live.

To accomplish great things, we must dream as well as act.

All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another.

To accomplish great things, we must not only act but also dream, not only plan but also believe.

To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.

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.

Existence would be intolerable if we were never to dream.

All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another.