Balzac, The Best Quotes From The French Writer

Choosing the best quotes from Balzac is a difficult task. Almost all of his statements are imbued with such wisdom and beauty that it is difficult to make a right selection. After all, we are talking about one of the greatest writers of all time.

One of the most interesting aspects of Balzac’s quotes is the realism and insight with which he manages to describe the human condition. Honoré de Balzac was just that: a profound observer of human behavior, individuals and society. And all this is reflected in his lyrics.

Another important aspect of the work of this great novelist is the profound respect for human complexity. His ideas and characters are never one-dimensional or simple. He knew very well that contradictory forces act in the same person, from which the greatest magnitudes or the worst miseries arise.

So here is a selection of his best phrases. Enjoy the reading!

Balzac’s best quotes for reflection

The genius of the French novel tells us: “ Forgetting is the great secret of intense and creative lives”. Just as memory plays a fundamental role in the construction of identity, oblivion also plays a decisive part in the ability to look ahead and continue on one’s path.

Another phrase from Balzac reads: “ There is no great talent without great willpower”. And who, if not the author himself, can support it? It is said that the French writer worked up to 15 hours a day, and spent many sleepless nights. For this reason, his work The human comedy is monumental and eternal.

He also claimed that ” When you question your power, you empower your doubt . ” It is a play on words that contains a great truth. Insecurity feeds on itself voraciously. This is why it is better not to give it large spaces.

Balzac, the thinker

Honoré de Balzac thoroughly analyzed life and its meaning, its values, its meaning. The fruit of these lucubrations can be summed up in this sentence: ” Our worst misfortunes will never come, and most of the miseries come in advance.” In short, in most cases, thinking about how badly they could happen is totally useless.

Vice and passions are two recurring themes in Balzac’s sentences. In this regard he writes: “ Noble passions are like vices: the more we give in to them, the stronger they become”. It tells us about the essence of the two sides of the same coin: the positive and negative passions. Both tend to grow if we get carried away by desire.

Another phrase of the French playwright, a true concentration of wisdom, is the following: “ In moments of great crisis, the heart breaks or gets tanned”. The verb “tan”, in this sense, refers to the original meaning of the words: to make a skin flexible to prevent it from decomposing.

Human relations

A beautiful sentence by Balzac about friendship is the following: “ To make friendship indissoluble, and to double its intensity, is a feeling that is lacking in love, in certainty”. And he is not wrong. While romantic love is always wrapped in a veil of uncertainty, friendship has a reassuring solidity.

Still talking about relationships, Balzac writes: ” While the scoundrels reconcile after stabbing each other, lovers are separated forever, with a simple look or words”. And this too is a great truth. Sincere loving bonds are much more delicate than those based on coexistence or habit.

Honoré de Balzac was born in Tours, and as a good Frenchman, he devoted some of his reflections to the theme of fashion, appearance and elegance. His vision on these issues is very particular.

One of his sentences reads as follows: ” Elegance is the science of doing nothing the same as others, making it seem like you are doing everything the same way “.

Like many other great characters in the history of literature, Balzac’s life was not easy. He had a childhood and adolescence of abuse and a breakdown that he called “intellectual congestion”.

He lived a single great romance, which lasted most of his life, and was greatly appreciated and admired by his contemporaries, leaving us an infinite source of wisdom in the form of literature. A must-read for all intrepid explorers looking for new paths to reach knowledge.