Skip to content

Quotes from Un Art de Vivre (The Art of Living) — André Maurois

1885–1967 France

← All quotes by André Maurois

69 quotes

A marriage without conflicts is almost as inconceivable as a nation without crises.

Un Art de Vivre (The Art of Living) (1939)

Byron says that it is easier to die for the woman one loves than to live with her.

Un Art de Vivre (The Art of Living) (1939)

Novelty, the most potent of all attractions, is also the most perishable.

Un Art de Vivre (The Art of Living) (1939)

Balzac says that many young husbands are so ignorant of women that they make him think of orang-outangs trying to play the violin.

Un Art de Vivre (The Art of Living) (1939)

A successful marriage puts an end to feminine friendships; but if marriage is a failure, the young woman must have others to confide in.

Un Art de Vivre (The Art of Living) (1939)

It is easy to be admired when one remains inaccessible.

Un Art de Vivre (The Art of Living) (1939)

Revolt against a tyrant is legitimate; it can succeed. Revolt against human nature is doomed to failure.

Un Art de Vivre (The Art of Living) (1939)

There is no absurdity or contradiction to which passion may not lead a man. When love or hate takes control, reason must submit and then discover justifications for their folly.

Un Art de Vivre (The Art of Living) (1939)

Everything that is in agreement with our personal desires seems true; everything that is not puts us in a rage.

Un Art de Vivre (The Art of Living) (1939)

In the misfortunes of our best friends, we always find something not unpleasing.

Un Art de Vivre (The Art of Living) (1939)

What men call friendship is only social intercourse, an exchange of favours and good offices; it comes down to a commercial dealing in which self-esteem always expects to profit.

Un Art de Vivre (The Art of Living) (1939)

A true woman loves a strong man because she knows his weaknesses. She protects as much as she is protected.

Un Art de Vivre (The Art of Living) (1939)

One has very little influence upon one's children. Their characters are what they are and one can do nothing to change them.

Un Art de Vivre (The Art of Living) (1939)

Passionate love produces distorted visions of actual people. Men who are too much in love expect such extraordinary happiness from marriage that they are frequently disappointed.

Un Art de Vivre (The Art of Living) (1939)

It is better to teach a few things perfectly than many things indifferently, and an overloaded curriculum is useless. The object of instruction is not to produce technicians, but good active minds.

Un Art de Vivre (The Art of Living) (1939)

Pascal said that if geometry stirred us emotionally as much as politics we would not be able to expound it so well.

Un Art de Vivre (The Art of Living) (1939)

Friendship is the positive and unalterable choice of a person whom we have singled out for qualities that we most admire.

Un Art de Vivre (The Art of Living) (1939)

It is a great joy to admire someone without reserve; love which is founded upon admiration of the mind as well as the body of the chosen person undoubtedly affords the keenest delight.

Un Art de Vivre (The Art of Living) (1939)

Paul Valéry has no hesitation in saying that the greatest evils today are elections and diplomas.

Un Art de Vivre (The Art of Living) (1939)

Does absolute reliance carry with it a complete exchange of confidences? I believe that true friendship cannot exist otherwise.

Un Art de Vivre (The Art of Living) (1939)

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: André Maurois (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.