Alexandre Dumas

Philosophy cannot be taught; it is the application of the sciences to truth.

Woman is sacred; the woman one loves is holy.

Happiness is like those palaces in fairytales whose gates are guarded by dragons: We must fight in order to conquer it.

Love is the most selfish of all the passions.

The merit of all things lies in their difficulty.

To learn is not to know; there are the learners and the learned. Memory makes the one, philosophy the others.

I do not cling to life sufficiently to fear death.

True love always makes a man better, no matter what woman inspires it.

I am not proud, but I am happy; and happiness blinds, I think, more than pride.

I have always had more dread of a pen, a bottle of ink, and a sheet of paper than of a sword or pistol.

Moral wounds have this peculiarity - they may be hidden, but they never close; always painful, always ready to bleed when touched, they remain fresh and open in the heart.

Those born to wealth, and who have the means of gratifying every wish, know not what is the real happiness of life, just as those who have been tossed on the stormy waters of the ocean on a few frail planks can alone realize the blessings of fair weather.

Learning does not make one learned: there are those who have knowledge and those who have understanding. The first requires memory and the second philosophy.

I don’t think man was meant to attain happiness so easily. Happiness is like those palaces in fairy tales whose gates are guarded by dragons: we must fight in order to conquer it.

When you compare the sorrows of real life to the pleasures of the imaginary one, you will never want to live again, only to dream forever.

How is it that little children are so intelligent and men so stupid? It must be education that does it