Andre Maurois

People are what you make them. A scornful look turns into a complete fool a man of average intelligence. A contemptuous indifference turns into an enemy a woman who, well treated, might have been an angel.

Growing old is no more than a bad habit which a busy person has no time to form.

We appreciate frankness from those who like us. Frankness from others is called insolence.

The difficult part in an argument is not to defend one's opinion but rather to know it.

A marriage without conflicts is almost as inconceivable as a nation without crises.

In literature as in love, we are astonished at what is chosen by others.

We owe to the Middle Ages the two worst inventions of humanity - romantic love and gunpowder.

A successful marriage is an edifice that must be rebuilt every day.

A happy marriage is a long conversation which always seems too short.

Men and women are not born inconstant: they are made so by their early amorous experiences.

If men could regard the events of their own lives with more open minds, they would frequently discover that they did not really desire the things they failed to obtain.

The really great novel tends to be the exact negative of its author's life.