Quotes by Andre Gide

"The most important things to say are those which often I did not think necessary for me to say - because they were too obvious."

"Through loyalty to the past, our mind refuses to realize that tomorrow's joy is possible only if today's makes way for it; that each wave owes the beauty of its line only to the withdrawal of the preceding one."

"Only those things are beautiful which are inspired by madness and written by reason."

"Welcome anything that comes to you, but do not long for anything else."

"Nothing is so silly as the expression of a man who is being complimented."

"Not everyone can be an orphan."

"Most quarrels amplify a misunderstanding."

"Know thyself. A maxim as pernicious as it is ugly. Whoever studies himself arrest his own development. A caterpillar who seeks to know himself would never become a butterfly."

"It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for something you are not."

"I owe much to my friends; but, all things considered, it strikes me that I owe even more to my enemies. The real person springs life under a sting even better than under a caress."

"A straight path never leads anywhere except to the objective."

"It is only in adventure that some people succeed in knowing themselves - in finding themselves."

"No theory is good unless it permits, not rest, but the greatest work. No theory is good except on condition that one use it to go on beyond."

"The color of truth is gray."

"Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it."

"To read a writer is for me not merely to get an idea of what he says, but to go off with him and travel in his company."

"One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time."

"Great authors are admirable in this respect: in every generation they make for disagreement. Through them we become aware of our differences."

"'Therefore' is a word the poet must not know."

"It is easier to lead men to combat, stirring up their passion, than to restrain them and direct them toward the patient labors of peace."