A tear is a misfortune, a stain is a vice.

Une déchirure est un malheur, une tache est un vice.

Original text (French)

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Notes from Wikiquote

Part III. Des Choses qui procèdent immédiatement de la personne (Things That Immediately Proceed the Person), Chapter V. De la Toilette dans toutes ses parties (Of the Toilet in all its Parts).

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Honoré de Balzac (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.