154 Quotes by Maurice Maeterlinck

We should tell ourselves once and for all that it is the first duty of the soul to become as happy, complete, independent, and great as lies in its power. To this end we may sacrifice even the passion for sacrifice, for sacrifice never should be the means of ennoblement, but only the sign of being ennobled.

Once at a potent leader's voice I stayed; Once I went back when a good monarch prayed; Mortals, howe'er we grieve, howe'er deplore, The flying shadow will return no more.

Wisdom requires no form; her beauty must vary, as varies the beauty of flame. She is no motionless goddess, for ever couched on her throne.

Most creatures have a vague belief that a very precarious hazard, a kind of transparent membrane, divides death from love; and that the profound idea of nature demands that the giver of life should die at the moment of giving.

It is far more important that one's life should be perceived than that it should be transformed; for no sooner has it been perceived, than it transforms itself of its own accord.

To be good we must needs have suffered; but perhaps it is necessary to have caused suffering before we can become better.

Physical suffering apart, not a single sorrow exists that can touch us except through our thoughts.

It's good to slowly come to the realization that you understand nothing.

Justice is the very last thing of all wherewith the universe concerns itself. It is equilibrium that absorbs its attention.