“Jealousy is a virtue of democracies which preserves them from tyrants.”

— Anatole France, Penguin Island, 1908, book VII, ch. IX

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.”

“Lord, what fools these mortals be!”

“Remember that all is opinion.”

“What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have yet to be discovered.”

“Beauty is the mark God sets upon virtue.”

“Truth also has its roof, and bed, and board.”

“Heartily know, when half-gods go, the gods arrive.”