Courtesy is only a thin veneer on the general selfishness.

Quote by Honore De Balzac

Topics: Honore De Balzac Quotes

Solitude is fine, but you need someone to tell you that solitude is fine.

Solitude is fine, but you need someone to tell you that solitude is fine.

Laws are spider webs through which the big flies pass and the little ones get...

Laws are spider webs through which the big flies pass and the little ones get...

Between the daylight gambler and the player at night there is the same difference that...

Between the daylight gambler and the player at night there is the same difference that...

To promote laughter without joining in it greatly heightens the effect..

To promote laughter without joining in it greatly heightens the effect..

Virtue, perhaps, is nothing more than politeness of soul.

Virtue, perhaps, is nothing more than politeness of soul.

Modesty is the conscience of the body.

Modesty is the conscience of the body.

Old maids, having never bent their temper or their lives to other lives and other...

Old maids, having never bent their temper or their lives to other lives and other...

There is no such thing as a great talent without great will power.

There is no such thing as a great talent without great will power.

A husband who submits to his wife's yoke is justly held an object of ridicule....

A husband who submits to his wife's yoke is justly held an object of ridicule....

Death unites as well as separates; it silences all paltry feeling.

Death unites as well as separates; it silences all paltry feeling.

Modesty is the conscience of the body.

Modesty is the conscience of the body.

What is a child, monsieur, but the image of two beings, the fruit of two...

What is a child, monsieur, but the image of two beings, the fruit of two...

Chance, my dear, is the sovereign deity in child-bearing.

Chance, my dear, is the sovereign deity in child-bearing.

If those who are the enemies of innocent amusements had the direction of the world,...

If those who are the enemies of innocent amusements had the direction of the world,...

Love has its own instinct, finding the way to the heart, as the feeblest insect...

Love has its own instinct, finding the way to the heart, as the feeblest insect...

For passion, be it observed, brings insight with it; it can give a sort of...

For passion, be it observed, brings insight with it; it can give a sort of...

Marriage must incessantly contend with a monster that devours everything: familiarity.

Marriage must incessantly contend with a monster that devours everything: familiarity.

The majority of husbands remind me of an orangutan trying to play the violin.

The majority of husbands remind me of an orangutan trying to play the violin.

Unintelligent persons are like weeds that thrive in good ground; they love to be amused...

Unintelligent persons are like weeds that thrive in good ground; they love to be amused...

A lover always thinks of his mistress first and himself second; with a husband it...

A lover always thinks of his mistress first and himself second; with a husband it...