Andre Maurois Quotes

"Old age is far more than white hair, wrinkles, the feeling that it is too late and the game finished, that the stage belongs to the rising generations. The true evil is not the weakening of the body, but the indifference of the soul."

"In literature as in love, we are astonished at what is chosen by others."

"No one can be profoundly original who does not avoid eccentricity."

"There are certain persons for whom pure Truth is a poison."

"We owe to the Middle Ages the two worst inventions of humanity - romantic love and gunpowder."

"Growing old is no more than a bad habit which a busy man has no time to form"

"All of us, from time to time, need a plunge into freedom and novelty, after which routine and discipline will seem delightful by contrast"

"Lost Illusion is the undisclosed title of every novel."

"Men and women are not born inconstant: they are made so by their early amorous experiences."

"The most important quality in a leader is that of being acknowledged as such."

"Conversation would be vastly improved by the constant use of four simple words: I do not know"

"A great biography should, like the close of a great drama, leave behind it a feeling of serenity. We collect into a small bunch the flowers, the few flowers, which brought sweetness into a life, and present it as an offering to an accomplished destiny. It is the dying refrain of a completed song, the final verse of a finished poem."

"To be witty is not enough. One must possess sufficient wit to avoid having too much of it."

"People are what you make them. A scornful look turns into a complete fool a man of average intelligence. A contemptuous indifference turns into an enemy a woman who, well treated, might have been an angel."

"We appreciate frankness from those who like us. Frankness from others is called insolence."

"The first recipe for happiness is: Avoid too lengthy meditation on the past."

"If you value a man's regard, strive with him. As to liking, you like your newspaper - and despise it."

"The most important quality in a leader is that of being acknowledged as such. All leaders whose fitness is questioned are clearly lacking in force."

"The difficult part in an argument is not to defend one's opinion, but rather to know it"

"In literature, as in love, we are astonished at the choice made by other people"