Alexandre Dumas quotes

Live, then, and be happy, beloved children of my heart, and never forget that until the day when God shall deign to reveal the future to man, all human wisdom is summed up in these two words,—‘Wait and hope.’

— Spoken by a character · 117. The Fifth of October

There is neither happiness nor misery in the world; there is only the comparison of one state with another, nothing more.

— Spoken by a character · 117. The Fifth of October

For all evils there are two remedies—time and silence.

— Spoken by a character · 45. The Rain of Blood

“We are never quits with those who oblige us,” was Dantès’ reply; “for when we do not owe them money, we owe them gratitude.”

— Spoken by a character · 2. Father and Son

“I am not proud, but I am happy, and happiness blinds, I think, more than pride.”

— Dantès · 3. The Catalans

We must have felt what it is to die, Morrel, that we may appreciate the enjoyments of living.

— Spoken by a character · 117. The Fifth of October

Private misfortunes must never be allowed to interfere with business.

— Spoken by a character · 5. The Marriage Feast

“Not their application, certainly, but their principles you may; to learn is not to know; there are the learners and the learned. Memory makes the one, philosophy the other.”

— Spoken by a character · 17. The Abbé’s Chamber

“How strange,” continued the king, with some asperity; “the police think that they have disposed of the whole matter when they say, ‘A murder has been committed,’ and especially so when they can add, ‘And we are on the track of the guilty persons.’”

— Spoken by a character · 11. The Corsican Ogre

And that is the very thing that alarms me,” returned Dantès. “Man does not appear to me to be intended to enjoy felicity so unmixed; happiness is like the enchanted palaces we read of in our childhood, where fierce, fiery dragons defend the entrance and approach; and monsters of all shapes and kinds, requiring to be overcome ere victory is ours.

— Dantès · 5. The Marriage Feast

“All for one, one for all.”

— Spoken by a character · IX. D’ARTAGNAN SHOWS HIMSELF

Love is the most selfish of all the passions.

“It is only the dead who do not return.”

— Porthos · XLVII. THE COUNCIL OF THE MUSKETEERS

Never fear quarrels, but seek adventures.

— Spoken by a character · I. THE THREE PRESENTS OF D’ARTAGNAN THE ELDER

Fight the more for duels being forbidden, since consequently there is twice as much courage in fighting.

— Spoken by a character · I. THE THREE PRESENTS OF D’ARTAGNAN THE ELDER

You said you were but three, but it appears to me we are four.

— Spoken by a character · V. THE KING’S MUSKETEERS AND THE CARDINAL’S GUARDS

“You are very amiable, no doubt, but you would be charming if you would only depart.”

— Spoken by a character · XXXV. A GASCON A MATCH FOR CUPID

Bravery is always respected, even in an enemy.

A rogue does not laugh in the same way that an honest man does; a hypocrite does not shed the tears of a man of good faith. All falsehood is a mask; and however well made the mask may be, with a little attention we may always succeed in distinguishing it from the true face.

We must never look for discretion in first love. First love is accompanied by such excessive joy that unless the joy be allowed to overflow, it will stifle you.

Friendship throws out deep roots in honest hearts, D’Artagnan. Believe me, it is only the evil-minded who deny friendship; they cannot understand it.

— Spoken by a character · XIV. The Castle of Bragelonne

Now an enemy is never so near and consequently so threatening, as when he has completely disappeared.

Great people only thank you for doing the impossible; what’s possible, they say, they can effect themselves, and they are right.

— Spoken by a character · VI. D’Artagnan in his Fortieth Year

What is offered from a generous heart should be accepted generously.

— Spoken by a character · XLII. Another Queen in Want of Help

There is nothing more galling to angry people than the coolness of those on whom they wish to vent their spleen.

“It was written,” thought poor Cornelius, “that I should not in this world give my name either to a child to a flower, or to a book,--the three things by which a man’s memory is perpetuated.”

— Spoken by a character · 29. In which Van Baerle, before leaving Loewestein, settles Accounts with Gryphus