Then the dog began to moan in old Salamano's room, and through the sleep-bound house the little plaintive sound rose slowly, like a flower growing out of the silence and the darkness.

Working conditions for me have always been those of the monastic life: solitude and frugality. Except for frugality, they are contrary to my nature, so much so that work is a violence I do to myself.

Maar is er ook geen mysterie in de ommekeer, die zich soms in bloeiende jonge meisjes voltrekt als het huwelijk ze tot banale, grijpstuiverige huisvrouwen maakt?

In normal times all of us know, whether consciously or not, that there is no love which can't be bettered; nevertheless, we reconcile ourselves more or less easily to the fact that ours has never risen above the average.

It would be better to try to awake the reader's critical instincts than to appeal to his laziness.

Space and silence weigh equally upon the heart. A sudden love, a great work, a decisive act, a thought which transfigures, all these at certain moments bring the same unbearable anxiety, linked with an irresistible charm.

The moment of despair is alone, pure, sure of itself, pitiless in its consequences. It has a merciless power.