Anatole France Quotes

“It is the certainty that they possess the truth that makes men cruel. -Anatole France, novelist, essayist, Nobel laureate (1844-1924)”

“It is the certainty that they possess the truth that makes men cruel. -Anatole France, novelist, essayist, Nobel laureate (1844-1924)”

“All writers of confessions from Augustine on down, have always remained a little in love with their sins.”

“To accomplish great things we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.(From an introductory speech at a session of the Académie Française, December 24, 1896)”

“M. Proust was more severe than M. de Caillavet on Anatole France: "He was selfish and supercilious. He had read so much that he had left his heart in other people's books, and all that remained was dryness. One day I asked him how he came to know so much. He said, 'Not by being such a handsome young man as you. I wasn't in demand, and instead of going out I studied and learned'.”

“To be misunderstood can be the writer's punishment for having disturbed the reader's peace. The greater the disturbance, the greater the possibility of misunderstanding.”

“Irony is the gaiety of reflection and the joy of wisdom.”

“I prefer the folly of enthusiasm to the indifference of wisdom.”

“Nine tenths of education is encouragement.”

“In art as in love, instinct is enough.”

“To imagine is everything, to know is nothing at all.”