Today beauty no longer acts, and action no longer bothers about being beautiful. — André Gide

What distinguished me from the rest was what mattered; what no one but I … could say—that was what I had to say.

What interest could I take in myself, except as a perfectible being? This unknown perfection, vaguely as I imagined it, exalted my will as never before in my longing to achieve it; I dedicated this will utterly to fortifying my body.

If there’s one thing I detest it’s a man of principles. … You can’t expect any kind of sincerity from him, for he only does what his principles have ordered him to do, or else he considers what he does a transgression.