One can imagine the look the two lovers exchanged; it was like a flame, for virtuous lovers have not a shred of hypocrisy.
Honore De BalzacRead
How did you get back?' asked Vautrin. 'I walked,' replied Eugene. 'I wouldn't like half-pleasures, myself,' observed the tempter. 'I'd want to go there in my own carriage, have my own box, and come back in comfort. All or nothing, that's my motto.' 'And a very good one,' said Madame Vauquer.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the idea of seeking complete experiences rather than settling for less.
In this quote, Vautrin and Eugene discuss the importance of pursuing experiences that are fulfilling and complete rather than opting for compromises. Vautrin suggests that he prefers fullness in life — represented metaphorically by wanting to travel in his own carriage and return in comfort, indicating a desire for agency and satisfaction in one's endeavors. Madame Vauquer's agreement signifies a shared understanding of the value of embracing all of what life has to offer instead of settling for the mediocre or half-hearted.
Themes
FullnessComfortExperienceAll Or NothingPhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech about ambitious goals, one might quote this to inspire others to pursue their dreams fully.
More from Honore De Balzac
All quotes →Loyalty in time of need is possibly one of the noblest of victories a courtier can win over himself.
Honore De BalzacRead
Marriage must incessantly contend with a monster that devours everything: familiarity.
Honore De BalzacRead
Who is to decide which is the grimmer sight: withered hearts, or empty skulls?
Honore De BalzacRead
However gross a man may be, the minute he expresses a strong and genuine affection, some inner secretion alters his features, animates his gestures, and colors his voice. The stupidest man will often, under the stress of passion, achieve heights of eloquence, in thought if not in language, and seem to move in some luminous sphere. Goriot's voice and gesture had at this moment the power of communication that characterizes the great actor. Are not our finer feelings the poems of the human will?
Honore De BalzacRead
Love is a religion, and its rituals cost more than those of other religions. It goes by quickly and, like a street urchin, it likes to mark its passage by a trail of devastation.
Honore De BalzacRead
Similar quotes
I get the urge for going/But I never seem to go.
Joni MitchellRead
Most animals are pragmatic about mysteries: If they run across something they don't understand, all they care about is whether it's edible and whether it's dangerous. Humans, on the other hand, are drawn to the mystery for its own sake.
Tana FrenchRead
We announce the birth of a conceptual country, NEWTOPIA. Citizenship of the country can be obtained by declaration of your awareness of NEWTOPIA. NEWTOPIA has no land, no boundaries, no passports, only people. NEWTOPIA has no laws other than cosmic. All people of NEWTOPIA are ambassadors of the country. As two ambassadors of NEWTOPIA, we ask for diplomatic immunity and recognition in the United Nations of our country and our people.
John LennonRead
Actually, there is only one first question of government, and it is How should we live? or What kind of people do we want our citizens to be?
George WillRead
Religion is never going to go away, and anyone who thinks it will doesn't understand what religion is. It is a language to describe the experience of human nature, so for as long as people struggle to describe what it means to be alive, it will be a ready-made language to express those feelings.
Reza AslanRead
There is not, in the Constitution, a syllable that implies that persons, born within the territorial limits of the United States, have allegiance imposed upon them on account of their birth in the country, or that they will be judged by any different rule, on the subject of treason, than persons of foreign birth.
Lysander SpoonerRead