16 Quotes by Jules Amedee Barbey d'Aurevilly

The Devil teaches women what they are – or they would teach it to the Devil if he did not know.

Next to the wound, what women make best is the bandage.

Happy men are grave. They carry their happiness cautiously, as they would a glass filled to the brim which the slightest movement could cause to spill over, or break.

I did not want to be taken for a fool-the typical French reason for performing the worst of deeds without remorse.

Night, which in Autumn seems to fall from the sky so suddenly, chilled us...

The crimes of extreme civilization are probably worse than those of extreme barbarism, because of their refinement, the corruption they presuppose, and their superior degree of intellectuality.

Passions are less mischievous than boredom, for passions tend to diminish and boredom increase.

The artist’s morality lies in the force and truth of his description.

We priests are the surgeons of souls, and it is our duty to deliver them of shameful secrets they would fain conceal, with hands careful to neither wound no pollute.