Quotes by Émile Zola

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Art... a moment of creation seen through a temperament...; what I'm looking for in a work is the man, the strong individuality who was able to create alongside God's world, his own personal world.

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Art has no other limits than the impotence of the artists.

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The bourgeoisie is exactly as I portray it in my novels: if there is a lot of dirt in my works, it is only because there is just as much dirt in life.

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The will to live, participation in the attainment of its distant and mysterious goal, justifies life itself.

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The only happiness in life is the continuous aspiration forward.

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If you hide the truth and bury it in the ground, it will surely grow and gain such power that one day it will come out and sweep everything in its path.

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Never before have men had such a ferocious attitude, never have they been so blind as in our times when they begin to imagine that they know everything.

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Ingenuity is often one step away from absolute stupidity.

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Laughter is the power to which the greatest of this world must submit.

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The sufferings of the righteous man are a verdict given by the unrighteous man.

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Superstition is dangerous, to admit its existence is even a form of cowardice. To have a tolerant attitude towards superstition does not mean to reconcile forever with ignorance, to revive the darkness of the Middle Ages? Superstition weakens, fools.

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A righteous man is foolish in the eyes of the world.

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Man moves faster, knows more... But the wild animal remains only a wild animal, and no matter how much more perfect machines are invented, the wild animal remains behind them.

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When someone has so much to do, it's no wonder they get dirty and don't notice.

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It is better if a person preserves the peace of his soul and creates his happiness in such a way that his inner peace remains.

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In vain, there is no limit to ingenuity! The heart sometimes expresses itself in very strange ways.

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He wondered that life was extremely cruel, but one could not tear out one's heart unless one wanted to rip it out immediately.

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Habit wears away a sense of decency like anything else.

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When you are left alone, you begin to look at things in a very strange way. The trees cease to be trees, the earth takes on a human face, the stones begin to freeze.

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Sin contaminates everything. It is an all-encompassing stench, it corrupts love, it infects the room of spouses, the cradle of newborns, even the flowers languishing in the heat of the sun, even the trees that are shedding their buds. The earth swims in this impurity, from the smallest drop of which the flower of infamy sprouts.

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Every true pessimist hides a sick, impotent person.

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Nature is not aware of what it is doing, and whoever does not correct it will become its victim.

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As many lives as possible will bring you as much happiness as possible. Man comes into the world only to create, to pass on and spread life. The human body, the good worker who completes his task, is also happy with this.

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All progress is triggered by overbreeding. Peoples developed only because civilization grew only because they first multiplied and then spread all over the world. And tomorrow's development, truth and justice will be created again only by the fact that the greater number is always increasing, that the workers and the poor are revolutionaryly productive.

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You must love him because he is flesh of your flesh, blood of your blood, bone of your bone. You have to protect him, because God gave you two strong arms to protect him above his head in the hour of danger. Remember that he is entrusted to your custody; you cannot abuse his humility and weakness without sin. Oh, my dear brother, what a happy pride is yours! From today you will no longer live in selfish solitude. A lofty task awaits you every hour. There is nothing more beautiful than love, unless we have to protect the one we love.

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I love you because you came into my life. It has everything... And now we are together and we love each other. I feel like I couldn't live without you. You are my lifeblood. (...) People don't recognize this at first. It develops with our heart. We have to grow into it, we have to get stronger... Remember? How we loved each other! And we didn't talk about it. Man is childish and stupid. Then, one fine day, everything will be clear, and that word will slip out of one's mouth... We have nothing else to do; we love each other because this is our life.

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I already know, you are my love, you come from my blood, you are waiting for me to hold you in my arms so that we can be one... I dreamed of you. You were inside me, and I gave my blood, my muscles, my bones. It did not hurt. You took my heart so gently that it was a beauty to share myself. I was looking for what was best in me, what was most beautiful, so that I could give it to you as well.

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The sown seeds must now be suffering in the ground and longing for light; they are also oppressed by the nightmare, they too dream that they are crawling in a long underground corridor, the earth is collapsing on them, they are furiously struggling to get out into the sun. Then he continued to sob more softly, saying that winter was the disease of the earth, and that he himself would die with the earth, unless spring would cure them both.

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Why despair? God is closest when we think all is lost.

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Religion turns a blind eye to human frailty if it does not fall short of propriety.

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An artist is worthless without talent, but talent is worthless without work.

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If you messed something up, don't try to fix it. Do it again!

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Money really doesn't add much to happiness.

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Great misfortunes are always followed by deep dreams.

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People often do unspeakable things for the sake of their happiness, without actually being happier because of it.

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It is a bitter thing to give up luck when it knocks at our door.

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Reasoning never becomes murder; it needs a killer instinct to force itself on its victim, hunger or passion to tear it apart.

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If both parties in a marriage are speculating on the death of the other, then one should open one's eyes well, without involving acquaintances.

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When a person is in great trouble, there is no room for other sorrows.

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If you can't kill others, don't kill yourself.

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Only the blood and the nervous system drive people to murder, the memory of ancient struggles, the will to live, the joy of strength.

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What a dream to be just, when truth is surrounded by a thick bush! It is worth more if a person is smart and supports this dying society with his shoulders, which is already threatened with complete deterioration.

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He who lies in the filth is not happy when the sun shines on him.

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She scolded him like a bush before, now let him do it, he cries so that his heart breaks... My God, we women are also stupid!

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Having children is not a big deal, raising them - is it? - that's art.

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Women don't like it when men are lazy. It's true that they don't say anything, because it's a shame... You understand, don't you?... But don't worry, it really hurts their side. Then sooner or later, when you don't even dream, they make up for it elsewhere... That's how it is, my bug.

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Open your eyes, who wants to see clearly!

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A girl's is like a hawthorn: when it blossoms, it has done everything.

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No matter how much we love someone, it's just a burden when they're dead; in fact, the more we cling to it, the more we want to get rid of it.

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Men often marry for one night only: the first; except that the first one is followed by the others, and the days come without end, and the whole life comes, and by then they are already bored long ago...

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Bad company is like a blow from a jerk: it cracks a person's skull.

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When she loves a man, she doesn't think about frolicking, she just dreams of always being together and living happily.

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Nothing shakes the soul like suffering.

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The thirst for illusion, the abundant proliferation of the desire for eternal comfort, (...) can only be explained by some great pain.

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The sun is the only truth, it burns in the sky for everyone, it gives the poor and the rich with the same movement its splendor, light, warmth, the source of all life.

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Only science is revolutionary, science will be sufficient to create not only truth but also justice, if justice is possible on this earth.

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Progress is only the result of collisions and struggles, the world was created only by the struggle of opposing forces.

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Oh, all hearts people! Friendly neighbors! Just knock on their door for some embers, a pinch of salt, a pint of water, and you can be sure they'll slam the door in your face. But their tongue is deceitful like a viper's. If their neighbor needs help, they don't get involved in other people's business, but if they have to bite into someone in such a mad way, then they will chew on it until daylight.

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You can get used to everything, but unfortunately you can't stop eating.

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His loathing for her grew to the extent of his passion for the other whom he longed for.

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If someone is a good mother, everything can be forgiven.

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Why should money be blamed for all the dirt it causes?

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I'd rather die of passion than boredom...

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Action carries its own reward. To act, to create, to fight with circumstances, to overcome them or to fail because of them, this is all the joy and health of a person.

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I don't want to hurt you, but admit that your degrees didn't satisfy any of your desires... (...) It's true, earning money isn't everything. But if I have to choose between the poor devils who flood the open fields, studying science, who just swallow the hunger pangs, or between the practical-minded boys, who face life armed and know their craft thoroughly, upon my word, I will side with them without hesitation versus, and I find that these guys understood the word of the age well.

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Error is deeply rooted in the human soul; there is no more heroic task than to triumph over even the tiniest truth.

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You can kill without arousal, and then life goes on.

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From the depths of invincible sleepiness, which was slowly taking over him, the love of life, the desire for happiness, the last dream that even he could be happy, rose again in him.

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No no! Only death is good. She can't live in this sea of ​​blood, with her heart torn out, cursed by the only man she wanted, who belongs to someone else. Now that he has the power, he must die.

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The common sin of the remaining socialist sects is the arbitrary organization of work; they enslave the individual for the benefit of the community.

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Theft is just one type of forced restitution.

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Science alone will solve the human, social and religious problem.

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Only the imprudence of the poor pushed the revolutionary masses onto the path of conquering truth, equity, and happiness. Every day, the flood of humanity would need more goodness, more justice, that the goods be distributed according to the correct laws regulating universal work. And if it is true that civilization curbs reproduction, then this very phenomenon may give rise to the hope that we will reach the final equilibrium after distant centuries, when the earth will be fully populated and will be wise enough to live in some kind of divine immobility.

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When death cuts down one of life's soldiers, another always rises to take the vacant battle position.

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The nickname sprinkles a soothing dew on the hurt female heart and softens it.

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He who has a clear conscience sleeps peacefully.

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A nation can only be revolutionized by changing the concept of beauty.

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A pregnant woman is a symbol of greatness, strength, and beauty. The virgin is annihilation, the mother is the eternity of life.

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It is just that each man should bring his wealth and create what is necessary to sustain his existence.

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An honest man cannot lay eggs carelessly, cannot leave his nest to chance like a bird, cannot entrust himself to the harvest of others.

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The mother suffers passionately for the eternal flourishing of life.

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The number is victory.

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The larger the family, the greater the harvest of ingratitude.

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Before death, no one can be said to be happy or unhappy.

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Lángés only blossoms from the soil of society, in great art only the faith of its age can burn.

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Life comes from the fingers just as it does from the brain, once someone creates living things.

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The feature of eternity is only in the single-minded innocence of the artist, who stands very humbly and with profound faith in front of the always beautiful nature.

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The real youth is in universities, laboratories and libraries. It is the working youth that will bring tomorrow, not the youth of table parties, manifestos and extravagances.

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The self is always the center, the individual always wishes to be happy by himself and by himself.

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A single step of science brings humanity closer to a system of justice and righteousness than a hundred years of politicization and social rebellion. Science itself sweeps away dogmas, sweeps away the gods, creates light and happiness.

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Every question changes depending on how you look at it.

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You have to hope for love until death.

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The animating element of the work is love, only creative love can make it eternal, and it collapses as soon as the bond of fraternal solidarity is broken.

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The people who no longer believe in life are dangerously ill.