Top 104 Quotes by Honore de Balzac

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

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

Bureaucracy is a giant mechanism operated by pygmies.

Excess of joy is harder to bear than any amount of sorrow.

If those who are the enemies of innocent amusements had the direction of the world, they would take away the spring, and youth, the former from the year, the latter from human life.

Thought is a key to all treasures; the miser's gains are ours without his cares. Thus I have soared above this world, where my enjoyment have been intellectual joys.

Lovers have a way of using this word, nothing, which implies exactly the opposite.

Courtesy is only a thin veneer on the general selfishness.

A mother's happiness is like a beacon, lighting up the future but reflected also on the past in the guise of fond memories.

Love is a game in which one always cheats.