“ Even in the centuries which appear to us to be the most monstrous and foolish, the immortal appetite for beauty has always found satisfaction. ”

“ It would be difficult for me not to conclude that the most perfect type of masculine beauty is Satan, as portrayed by Milton. ”

“ I can barely conceive of a type of beauty in which there is no Melancholy. ”

“ Everything that is beautiful and noble is the product of reason and calculation. ”

“ For the merchant, even honesty is a financial speculation. ”

“ Nature... is nothing but the inner voice of self-interest. ”

“ It is the hour to be drunken! to escape being the martyred slaves of time, be ceaselessly drunk. On wine, on poetry, or on virtue, as you wish. ”

“ Inspiration comes of working every day. ”

“ We are weighed down, every moment, by the conception and the sensation of Time. And there are but two means of escaping and forgetting this nightmare: pleasure and work. Pleasure consumes us. Work strengthens us. Let us choose. ”

“ Nothing can be done except little by little. ”