Marguerite Yourcenar Quotes

Out of the debris of a statue thoroughly shattered a new art work is born: a naked foot unforgettably resting on a stone; a candid hand; a bent knee which contains all the speed of the foot race; a torso which has no face to prevent us from loving it.

You are only the shortest possible answer to all the questions of men. Do you know a better one? Yes, the word no is just as short as the word God.

Between the role of saviour and that of butcher’s accomplice, all I see left for you is the unsavoury role of victim.

Happiness is always a work of art: the least fault distorts it, the least hesitation changes it, a little dullness spoils it, the smallest foolish act makes it idiotic.

Three quarters of our intellectual performances are no more than decorations over a void.

A person who reads or thinks or calculates, belongs to a kind and not to a gender; in his or her best moments, he or she escapes being human.