“There are very few really brilliant men who have not had at least one madman among their ancestors.”

— André Maurois, Les silences du colonel Bramble (The Silence of Colonel Bramble) (1918), Ch. 12

About André Maurois

1885 – 1967

French author and biographer, author of "The Art of Living".

“Growing old is no more than a bad habit which a busy man has no time to form.”

“The blend of admiration and compassion is one of the surest recipes for love.”

“Telephones are like women. No one really knows anything about them.”

“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”

“He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life.”

“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.”