“For the majority of people, though they do not know what to do with this life, long for another that shall have no end.”

— Anatole France, The Revolt of the Angels, 1914, ch. XXI

About Anatole France

1844 – 1924

French poet, journalist and novelist, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature (1921).

“To accomplish great things we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.”

“What we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another.”

“If it were absolutely necessary to choose, I would rather be guilty of an immoral act than of a cruel one.”

“The young have exalted notions, because they have not been humbled by life or learned its necessary limitations.”

“You never know how much you really believe anything until its truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life and death to you.”

“The consciousness of life is higher than life, the knowledge of the laws of happiness is higher than happiness.”

“Life was meant to be lived, and curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life.”

“Life consists in the alternate process of learning and unlearning; but it is often wiser to unlearn than to learn.”

“I could give you no advice but this: to go into yourself and to explore the depths where your life wells forth.”