"It is better to have a prosaic husband and to take a romantic lover."

“Centro Stendhaliano di Milano Digital version of Stendhal's shoulder-notes on his own books.”

“The great majority of men, especially in France, both desire and possess a fashionable woman, much in the way one might own a fine horse — as a luxury befitting a young man.”

“In love, unlike most other passions, the recollection of what you have had and lost is always better than what you can hope for in the future.”

“Stendhal's works: text, concordances and frequency list”

“I call "crystallization" that action of the mind that discovers fresh perfections in its beloved at every turn of events.”

“In matters of sentiment, the public has very crude ideas; and the most shocking fault of women is that they make the public the supreme judge of their lives.”