Stello

“I have a private theory, Sir, that there are no heroes and no monsters in this world. Only children should be allowed to use these words””

— Alfred de Vigny

“I admit that I myself am far from having a complete command of every topic I touch on, but my knowledge of my subject is always greater than the interest or the understanding of my auditors. You see, there is one very good thing about mankind; the mediocre masses make very few demands of the mediocrities of a higher order, submitting stupidly and cheerfully to their guidance””

— Alfred de Vigny

“The loveliest Muse in the world does not feed her owner; these girls make fine mistresses but terrible wives””

— Alfred de Vigny

“Hope is the greatest madness. What can we expect of a world that we enter with the assurance of seeing our fathers and mothers die? A world where, if two beings love each other and give their lives to each other, both can be sure that one will watch the other perish?””

— Alfred de Vigny

“To hold power has always meant to manipulate idiots and circumstances; and those circumstances and those idiots, tossed together, bring about those coincidences to which even the greatest men confess they owe most of their fame””

— Alfred de Vigny

“The first among mankind will always be those who make something imperishable out of a sheet of paper, a canvas, a piece of marble, or a few sounds””

— Alfred de Vigny

“Oh, I have a habit of letting myself be lectured on the things I know best. I like to see if they are understood in the same way I understand; for there are many ways of knowing the same thing””

— Alfred de Vigny

“Those intellectuals are our natural enemies; the only kind who are worth anything are the musicians and the dancers: they don’t insult anybody with their performances, and they neither sing nor dance politics. So I like them; but don’t let me hear a word about the rest””

— Alfred de Vigny

“One is always a good master when one isn’t the master””

— Alfred de Vigny