Historians tell the story of the past, novelists the story of the present.

Quote by Edmond De Goncourt

Topics: Historians Quotes

Debauchery is perhaps an act of despair in the face of infinity.

Debauchery is perhaps an act of despair in the face of infinity.

That which, perhaps, hears more nonsense than anything in the world, is a picture in...

That which, perhaps, hears more nonsense than anything in the world, is a picture in...

A painting in a museum hears more ridiculous opinions than anything else in the world.

A painting in a museum hears more ridiculous opinions than anything else in the world.

People don't like the true and simple; they like fairy tales and humbug.

People don't like the true and simple; they like fairy tales and humbug.

Laughter is the mind's intonation. There are ways of laughing which have the sound of...

Laughter is the mind's intonation. There are ways of laughing which have the sound of...

The newspaper is the natural enemy of the book, as the whore is of the...

The newspaper is the natural enemy of the book, as the whore is of the...

Barbarism is needed every four or five hundred years to bring the world back to...

Barbarism is needed every four or five hundred years to bring the world back to...

As a general truth, it is safe to say that any picture that produces a...

As a general truth, it is safe to say that any picture that produces a...

Man is a mind betrayed, not served, by his organs.

Man is a mind betrayed, not served, by his organs.

The English are crooked as a nation and honest as individuals. The contrary is true...

The English are crooked as a nation and honest as individuals. The contrary is true...

If there is a God, atheism must seem to Him as less of an insult...

If there is a God, atheism must seem to Him as less of an insult...

If there is a God, atheism must seem to Him as less of an insult...

If there is a God, atheism must seem to Him as less of an insult...

A poet is a man who puts up a ladder to a star and climbs...

A poet is a man who puts up a ladder to a star and climbs...

Today I begin to understand what love must be, if it exists... When we are...

Today I begin to understand what love must be, if it exists... When we are...

Genius is the talent of a person who is dead.

Genius is the talent of a person who is dead.

To call war the soil of courage and virtue is like calling debauchery the soil...

To call war the soil of courage and virtue is like calling debauchery the soil...

How utterly futile debauchery seems once it has been accomplished, and what ashes of disgust...

How utterly futile debauchery seems once it has been accomplished, and what ashes of disgust...

To be a poet is to place pleasure, beauty and sensual delights front and centre,...

To be a poet is to place pleasure, beauty and sensual delights front and centre,...

My problem lies in reconciling my gross habits with my net income.

My problem lies in reconciling my gross habits with my net income.

I wrote the word debauchery, but when I re-read it, I thought I had written...

I wrote the word debauchery, but when I re-read it, I thought I had written...