To be in it [society] is merely a bore. But to be out of it simply a tragedy.

To get into the best society nowadays, one has either to feed people, amuse people, or shock people.

Nothing can cure the soul but the senses, just as nothing can cure the senses but the soul.

Whenever a man does a thoroughly stupid thing it is always from the noblest motive.

In matters of grave importance, style, not sincerity, is the vital thing.

Hearts live by being wounded.

Suffering is one very long moment. We can not divide it by seasons. We can only record its moods and chronicle their return.

Only the shallow know themselves.

Talk to every woman as if you loved her, and to every man as if he bored you, and at the end of your first season you will have the reputation of possessing the most perfect social tact.

The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself.