228 Quotes by Romain Gary

Like all Americans, he had no talent for bowing to the inevitable. The word ‘impossible’ is not in his vocabulary.

Când ai iubit o femeie din adâncul tuturor ochilor, din adâncul tuturor dimineților, pădurilor, câmpiilor, izvoarelor și păsărilor, știi că încă nu ai iubit-o destul și că lumea este doar un început pentru tot ce-ți mai rămâne să faci.

I am very old,’ he said gravely. He added, as a matter of course: ‘I’m glad to die in Africa.’ 'And why?''Because this is where mankind began. The cradle of humanity is in Nyasaland. It’s been pretty well proved.’ 'Odd reason.’ 'One dies better at home.''Yet another one, I thought, who’s trying to find a home on earth.

Chère Méditerranée ! Que ta sagesse latine, si douce à la vie, me fut donc clémente et amicale, et avec quelle indulgence ton vieux regard amusé s'est posé sur mon front d'adolescent ! Je reviens toujours à ton bord, avec les barques qui ramènent le couchant dans leurs filets. J'ai été heureux sur ces galets.

But Herbier was much too fond of Africa and it’s people to feel sorry that he had never been able to to contemplate them from the administrative heights: a fine view, perhaps, but a distant one.

The pristine vision of childhood restores freshness to even the most time-worn scenes, and in Laura’s company I recovered some of the delights I had experienced years ago when my son was a little boy.

There are those who have said about us, “What does she see in him?” or “What does he see in her?”; the usual sort of thing that only proves two people indeed see everything in each other.

Il y a des gens, jeune homme, qui tombent tellement amoureux de la vie qu'ils préfèrent mourir plutôt que de renoncer à vivre

— During all those years, you know, in the maquis, I was always asking myself whether it was for liberty, for France, that I was risking my life, or whether it was simply to keep up my self-image. Give me a whiskey, will you?I sat down.— Anyhow, I am not going to change that image.