385 Quotes by Andre Gide

Of some forty families I have been able to observe, I know hardly four in which the parents do not act in such a way that nothing would be more desirable for the child than to escape their influence.

Only fools don't contradict themselves

Art is the collaboration between God and the artist, and the less the artist does the better.

One completely overcomes only what one assimilates.

The thing I am most aware of is my limits. And this is natural; for I never, or almost never, occupy the middle of my cage; my whole being surges toward the bars.

It is good to follow one's own bent, so long as it leads upward.

Mozart's joy is made of serenity, and a phrase of his music is like a calm thought; his simplicity is merely purity. It is a crystalline thing in which all the emotions play a role, but as if already celestially transposed. Moderation consists in feeling emotions as the angels do.

What would there be in a story of happiness? Only what prepares it, only what destroys it can be told.

One should want only one thing and want it constantly. Then one is sure of getting it. But I desire everything, and consequently get nothing.