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Without work, the vessel of human life has no ballast.

— Stendhal Souvenirs d'égotisme (Memoirs of an Egotist) (1832)

Sans travail, le vaisseau de la vie humaine n'a point de lest.

Original text (French)

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Notes from Wikiquote

Ch. 1

More quotes by Stendhal

I call "crystallization" that action of the mind that discovers fresh perfections in its beloved at every turn of events.

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In love, unlike most other passions, the recollection of what you have had and lost is always better than what you can hope for in the future.

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When a man leaves his mistress, he runs the risk of being betrayed two or three times daily.

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One can acquire everything in solitude — except character.

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Any man who talks about his love affairs thereby proves he is ignorant of love and is moved only by vanity.

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Attribution

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