Gustave Flaubert Ticks Quotations

The faster the word sticks to the thought, the more beautiful is the effect.

What stops me from taking myself seriously, even though I am essentially a serious person, is that I find myself extremely ridiculous, not in the sense of the small-scale ridiculousness of slap-stick comedy, but rather in the sense of ridiculousness that seems intrinsic to human life and that manifests itself in the simplest actions and the most extraordinary gestures.

The denigration of those we love always detaches us from them in some degree. Never touch your idols: the gilding will stick to your fingers.