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.

God who kills us, come to our rescue!

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.