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
Whoever does not visit Paris regularly will never really be elegant.
Interpretation
Elegance is experienced through cultural immersion, particularly in Paris.
This quote suggests that exposure to the beauty, culture, and sophistication of Paris is essential for developing a true sense of elegance. Balzac implies that elegance transcends mere appearance, rooted deeply in one's experiences and appreciation of art and city life.
In practice
During a speech on fashion at a gala, you might say this quote to emphasize the importance of cultural experiences in shaping one's style.
One can imagine the look the two lovers exchanged; it was like a flame, for virtuous lovers have not a shred of hypocrisy.
Loyalty in time of need is possibly one of the noblest of victories a courtier can win over himself.
Marriage must incessantly contend with a monster that devours everything: familiarity.
Who is to decide which is the grimmer sight: withered hearts, or empty skulls?
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?
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.
Everything vanishes round me and good works rise from me of their own accord.
The person of old had the same brilliance of mind that we assume we have now. But that which made a thing become manifest for the first time is our great moment of creative happening.
β¦ lend your ears to music, open your eyes to painting, and β¦ stop thinking! Just ask yourself whether the work has enabled you to βwalk aboutβ into a hitherto unknown world. If the answer is yes, what more do you want?
I've always had an idealistic streak about storytelling in that I believe we owe more to audiences than repeatedly bludgeoning them over the head while stealing their lunch money. We owe them inspiration. That's why I'm more interested now in creating new heroes than hooking up jumper cables to old ones.
Art is much less important than life, but what a poor life without it.
People think that my favorite roles to do are villains, but I find comedy to be the most challenging and rewarding.
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