January 13, 2021Literature
About the connection between the neckline and suitcases, the career of a broker, the truth in the world of feelings and attempts to escape from the care of the mother. How fiction and truth intertwine in the letters of Marcel Proust
Author Elena Grechanaya
The custom of writing letters (and certainly answering them), sending postcards from different places visited is one of the most characteristic of French culture, which has survived to this day. Marcel Proust (1871–1922), born into a wealthy family of a famous doctor and the daughter of a major financier, received a traditional upbringing and devoted a lot of time to maintaining epistolary connections with numerous correspondents. This correspondence amounts to more than 20 volumes. In his letters, Proust not only pays a lot of attention to his interlocutors, but also talks a lot about himself. Particularly interesting are the letters he wrote in his youth, when he was trying to understand his character and find a place in life. Proust tries to avoid excessive revelations, often hides behind quotes from his favorite poets and consistently builds his own image. The combination of fiction and truth, restraint and confession is precisely what allows one to open up “to a soul full of secrets known only to it.” From a letter to the artist Mary Nordlinger..
About a cold chicken leg and a soft-boiled egg
“We are served here for breakfast, lunch and dinner at least five courses, in the morning - second breakfast, in the evening - afternoon tea, in general, the cuisine is divine and worthy of Gargantua, the dishes are huge, refined and magnificent, which are enjoyed by the skinny inhabitants of Auteuil Auteuil - the prestigious northern -the western suburb of Paris, where Proust was born.. This morning (I’m taking an example at random, and at the same time I ate less than usual) I ate: a soft-boiled egg two steaks five potatoes (whole) a cold chicken leg a cold chicken thigh three servings of baked apples, full of amazing juice (at half past eight - coffee with milk and bread). I ask you not to show this letter to anyone; the insatiable glutton and gourmet in it prevail over the refined writer, or at least are not inferior to him.”
From a letter to grandmother Adele Weil. August 1886
Gloppe confectionery on the Champs Elysees. Painting by Jean Béraud. 1889 Musée Carnavalet
Like every Frenchman, Proust was accustomed to feasts from childhood and was a connoisseur of culinary art. In one letter, he tells his mother that he ate three desserts, and in another, when he was over thirty years old, he bitterly recalls how his mother deprived him of dessert as punishment. At the beginning of the novel “In Search of Lost Time,” the hero unexpectedly experiences happiness when he tastes a madeleine sponge cake soaked in linden tea. He recalls that this is a taste familiar from his childhood, when he spent his summer holidays in the provincial town of Combray. The memory of Combray gives the title to the first part of the first volume of the novel, “Towards Swann,” in which the hero’s childhood years are resurrected.
About strong friendly feelings
“I would even willingly sketch my portrait, even if only one corner of it: “Do you know X, my dear, that is, Marcel P[rust]?” I have to admit that I don't really like him. These are his eternal enthusiastic impulses, preoccupied appearance, passionate hobbies and adjectives. <…> I would call him a lover of confessions. A week later, he lets you know that he has strong friendly feelings for you, and under the pretext that he loves his friend as his father, he loves him as a woman. <…> I wouldn’t mind talking very seriously with him for an hour. But I’m afraid he’ll kiss me.” <…> I believe that D. A. He means Daniel Alevi (1872–1962) - Proust’s classmate at the Lyceum and his close friend, who later became a historian and wrote memoirs. If he sees this portrait, he will say, as before he said about me: “Too sincerely and therefore not true.” And he will be right."
From a letter to Robert Dreyfus Robert Dreyfus (1873–1939) was a fellow student at the Lyceum and friend of Proust, later a famous historian and author of memoirs about the writer.. September 1888
Marcel Proust (seated), Robert de Fleurs (left) and Lucien Daudet (right). Around 1894 Wikimedia Commons
Already at the Lyceum, Proust began to experience an attraction to young men, which he did not speak about directly, maneuvering between recognition and denial. At the age of seventeen, he seemed to hope that it would go away with time. Because, as he wrote in one of his letters to the above-mentioned Daniel Alevi, he knew of cases where his friends “once had fun with a friend ... in the beginning of their youth. Then they turned to the women again. If this were the end, then who would they be, oh gods, and who do you think I am, especially who will I become if I have already finished with ordinary love! It is under the guise of the hero’s “ordinary love” for the girl Albertine that Proust’s painful love for Alfred Agostinelli, his driver and secretary, is depicted in the novel “In Search of Lost Time.” At the same time, similar inclinations of other heroes of the novel became the subject of ridicule and condemnation, as if he was looking at this phenomenon from the outside, from the point of view of public opinion. Apparently, for Proust himself the laws of love were the same, since in any experience there is something universal. “These are, in general, lovers. And I don’t know why their love is worse than ordinary love,” he wrote to Alevi about this kind of unusual relationship in 1888.
About a woman as a work of art
“Here are fifteen chrysanthemums, twelve to replace your twelve when they fade, and three to complete the new twelve; I hope that... ...You will like these flowers, proud and sad like you - proud of their beauty and sad because everything is so stupid. <…> The fact that a simply desirable woman, an ordinary object of desire, only divides her admirers is quite natural. But when a woman, like a work of art, reveals to us the most exquisite in charm, the most refined in grace, the most divine in beauty, the most delightful in the mind, then a common admiration for her unites, binds us with ties of brotherhood.”
From a letter to Laura Hayman Laura Hayman (1851–1932) was the mistress of Proust's uncle Louis Weill. She became one of the prototypes of Odette in Proust’s series of novels “In Search of Lost Time.” November 2, 1892
Marcel Proust kneeling before the ladies. 1892 © Diomedia
Declarations of love for ladies in Proust’s letters can hardly be considered just a tribute to politeness or a disguise. He was in love with women, although more like works of art. There is not a single lady known who would have tender feelings for him. He found himself doomed to sublime, platonic love, the significance of which he writes in a letter to Genevieve Strauss. Genevieve Strauss (1849–1926) is the daughter of the composer Fromental Halévy, in her first marriage the wife of the composer Georges Bizet. Her salon was visited by aristocrats, famous writers and artists, and politicians. One of the prototypes of the Duchess of Guermantes, who appears in the series of novels “In Search of Lost Time.” at the turn of 1892–1893: “But you have not grasped the truth too well […] that platonic love requires a lot. He who is not at all sentimental strangely becomes so when his love is reduced to platonic.”
About the least evil
“I kept hoping to continue the study of literature and philosophy, for which I believe I was created. But... I prefer to immediately choose one of the practical careers that you suggested to me. <…> As for a lawyer’s office, I would a thousand times prefer the office of a stock broker. However, rest assured that I will not stay there even three days! Not because I still think that any other pursuits other than literature and philosophy are wasted time for me. But of all evils one must choose the least.”
From a letter to Father Adrian Proust. September 1893
Exit from the Lycée Condorcet. Painting by Jean Béraud. 1903 Musée Carnavalet, Histoire de Paris
After graduating from the lyceum and military service, Proust seriously considered a variety of possibilities for a future career - from an official of the Court of Accounts to the director of the Versailles Museum. As a result, he entered the Sorbonne and became a licentiate. Licentiate is the first academic degree, which is obtained in the third or fourth year of study at the university. law and philosophy, then studied for two years at the School of Political Science. His further activity was reduced to service without pay at the Mazarin Library in Paris, where he appeared for a week, and then took leave, which became indefinite. He was sick with asthma, which served as an excuse for him to refuse any service. However, the illness did not interfere with his creative activity. By the time he began work on the novel “In Search of Lost Time,” Proust was the author of a collection of stories and poems “Joys and Days” (1896), an unfinished novel “Jean Santeuil,” two voluminous annotated translations of books by the English art historian John Ruskin, and many articles in newspapers and magazines. The financial situation of his parents, with whom Proust lived, freed him from the need to look for income. After their death, he received a significant inheritance. All of his early texts were published at the expense of the author, as was the first volume of “The Search.”
Inspirational Quotes About Success and Achieving Goals
1. He who believes in his luck is lucky. K. Goebbel
2. If you work towards your goals, then those goals will work for you. D. Ron
3. Start every morning by reading the list of the richest people. If you're not there, get to work. R. Orben
4. Success is being on time. M. Tsvetaeva
5. Every time you need to jump off a cliff and grow wings on the way down. Ray Bradbury
6. The world belongs to optimists, pessimists are just spectators. F. Guizot
7. In serious matters, one should care not so much about creating favorable opportunities as about not missing them. Francois de La Rochefoucauld
8. Every dream is given to you along with the strength necessary to make it come true. However, you may have to work hard for this. Richard Bach
9. To reach the goal, a person needs only one thing. Go. Honore de Balzac
10. The desire to succeed without hard work is similar to the desire to harvest where you did not plant the seeds. David Bligh
11. To swim against the current, the fish must be strong; even a dead fish can swim with the current. John Crow Ransom
12. To achieve success, you need to do only 2 things: clearly define what you really want, and then pay the required amount for it all. Nelson Bunker Hunt
13. Dreams are like stars... you may never reach them, but if you strive for them, they will lead you to your destiny. Gail Deavers
14. Praise yourself for what you have already achieved and don’t get discouraged. Salma Hayek
15. If you want to be better than others, then get ready to do what others don’t want to do. Michael Phelps
16. If you are not ready to work, then you are ready to lose. Mark Spitz
17. The sleeper will get nothing but dreams. Serena Williams
18. If you're not going to go all the way, why are you even doing it? Joe Namath
19. Exercise. Learn. Always be prepared. Derek Jeter
20. To achieve your goals, you need patience and enthusiasm. Think globally - but be realistic. Donald Trump
21. Choose a profession you love and you will never have to work a day in your life. Confucius
22. The work we do willingly heals pain. William Shakespeare
23. There is only one type of work that does not cause depression - it is work that you do not have to do. Georges Elgozy
24. If you don’t know what you want, you will die in a pile of what you didn’t want.
25. Have a goal for your whole life, a goal for a certain time, a goal for the year, for the month, for the week, for the day and for the hour and for the minute, sacrificing the lower goals to the higher ones.
Read more: What to do when you don’t feel like doing anything
26. The goal must be happiness, otherwise the fire will not burn brightly enough, the driving force will not be strong enough - and success will not be complete.
27. A person grows as his goals grow.
28. Most people striving for a goal are able to make one big effort rather than stubbornly follow the chosen path; Because of laziness and inconstancy, they often lose the fruits of their best endeavors and allow themselves to be overtaken by those who set out on the journey later than them and walked more slowly, but without stopping.
29. No one will help you find your way. He is yours.
30. To justify ourselves in our own eyes, we often convince ourselves that we are unable to achieve our goal; in fact, we are not powerless, but weak-willed.
31. Finding your way, finding out your place - this is everything for a person, this means for him to become himself.
32. By working only for material benefits, we build a prison for ourselves. And we lock ourselves in alone, and all our riches are dust and ashes, they are powerless to give us something worth living for.
33. If you want to achieve a goal, don't try to be subtle or smart. Use rough methods. Hit the target immediately. Go back and hit again. Then hit again - with a strong blow from the shoulder...
34. Our life is a journey, an idea is a guide. There is no guide and everything has stopped. The goal is lost, and the strength is gone.
35. Truly serious pursuit of any goal is half the success in achieving it.
36. No goal is so high that it justifies unworthy means to achieve it.
37. It is inherent in the concept of a person that his final goal should be unattainable, and his path to it should be endless.
38. A mind that has no definite goal is lost; to be everywhere is to be nowhere.
39. If you want to achieve the goal of your aspiration, ask more politely about the road you have lost your way.
40. Anyone who left behind at least one bright, new thought, at least one useful feat for humanity, did not die childless.
41. There are few unattainable things in the world; If we had more persistence, we could find a way to almost any goal.
42. Nothing makes life more bearable than activity aimed at one goal.
43. I respect people who know what they want. Most of the troubles around the world come from people not being clear enough about their goals. When they begin to erect a building, they spend too little effort on the foundation for the tower to stand.
44. There is always a peak that you strive to achieve, and having reached it, you rush to the next one. This is the “thorny path”.
45. Here are two things for you - do at least one of them, if you want to become famous for your deeds before people. Either what you know, pass on to others, Or what you don’t know, take from others!
46. If there is no goal, you do nothing, and you don’t do anything great if the goal is insignificant.
47. He who walks slowly and leisurely, no road is long; He who patiently prepares for the journey will certainly reach his goal.
48. The slowest person, unless he loses sight of his goal, walks faster than the one who wanders aimlessly.
49. Life is only wonderful for those who strive for a goal that is constantly achieved, but never achievable.
50. Feat, like talent, shortens the path to the goal.
About the neckline and suitcases
“The Besniers couple Arthur Besniers (1834–1913) , writer, and his wife Charlotte (1844–?), salon owner. <…> the other day I was playing charades <…>. J. de Traz Unidentified person, like an old bourgeois, lay in the bathroom, covered with a sheet, with one leg sticking out so that calluses could be removed. Elevated stage. Mr. Arthur portrayed first an old Jew, then an academician, the chairman of the Geographical Society... He is very playful, Mr. Arthur Besnier, he told me that he took advantage of the elevated position on stage to see from above the cleavage of his sister-in-law Laura and other ladies, and added: “The contents of their corsages resembled the inside of a suitcase. Some had only half a dozen pairs of socks, others had a dozen, and still others had nothing at all. My sister-in-law seemed to be leaving for a long time...”
From a letter to Robert de Billy Count Robert de Billy (1869–1953) was a friend of Proust. Subsequently he became a diplomat and publisher of the writer's letters.. January 1893
From left to right: Prince Edmond de Polignac, Princess Brancovan, Marcel Proust, Prince Constantin Brancovan and Léon Delafosse. In the second row are sitting: Madame de Mongenard, Princess de Polignac, Countess Anne de Noailles. Sitting in the front row: Princess Hélène de Caraman-Chime, Abel Erman. Until 1901 Wikimedia Commons
Thanks to his friendly connections, Proust was accepted into high society, although he himself did not belong to the circle of the aristocracy and the big bourgeoisie. Attending evenings like the one described in this letter, he remained an outside observer, noticing the comical traits of the regulars of fashionable salons and picking up the witty words of the masters of small talk. Subsequently, these satirical observations will appear on the pages of his novel.
About the voices of bells
“I also send you my best wishes on the occasion of the New Year... Three years ago I did not dare to expect anything from the New Year, either for myself or for others. It seemed to me that if the years change, then the people remain the same, and that the future, the focus of our desires and dreams, is predetermined by that same past, the repetition of which we do not want at all in the future, and yet this future sounds so clearly in cheerful and gloomy voices the bells that we shook before.”
From a letter to Robert de Montesquiou Count Marie-Robert-Anatole de Montesquiou Fezansac (1855–1921) - poet, prose writer and critic, famous dandy.. January 3, 1895
Marcel Proust. Evian, circa 1905 Proust-Ink
Proust is only 23 years old, but the past already has such an important meaning for him: it is more alive and persistent than the present and the future. After reading the book “The Path of No Return” by Henri Bordo (1870–1963), he wrote to the author in the spring of 1904: “And yet, yes, finding the past is possible. We try to find it by climbing the stream of enchanting memories and creating a beautiful book. <…> The path remains without return in reality. But not in art. This is also why art deserves the name of comforter. <…> Truth is in the world of feelings. Outside of it there is only delusion.”
About consumer society and the chthonic horror hidden behind its façade:
“The old drama is repeating itself: we are all mired in a social swamp. All this has already happened in Ancient Rome and in Persia, in the Ottoman Empire and in Athens. All the same symptoms appeared. We flounder in an air-conditioned anthill under the threat of wars, overpopulation, and the replication of celluloid clichés. We are entertained by our ant circus - television, but we are becoming more and more scared and, even worse, our lives are becoming more and more boring, and we are ready to open a new page in history.”
About the torn lining
“I can’t talk to you and that’s why I’m writing to you to tell you that you don’t understand me at all. <…> It was your fault that I was in a state of such excitement that when poor Fenelon Count Bertrand de Fenelon (1878–1914) is a diplomat, a friend of Proust. came with Loris Georges de Loris (1876–1963) - a friend of Proust, who later became a writer and the author of memoirs about him. At his very first words, I must say, very unpleasant, I attacked him with my fists (at Fenelon, not at Loris) and, not realizing what I was doing, grabbed his new hat, began to trample on it, tear it, and finally tore the lining off of it. You may think that I am exaggerating, so I am enclosing a piece of lining to my letter so that you can be convinced that this is true.”
From a letter to his mother Jeanne Proust. December 6, 1902
Marcel and Robert Proust with their mother Jeanne, nee Weil. Around 1895 Bibliothèque nationale de France,
Proust looked very much like his mother. If in the novel “In Search of Lost Time” their undoubted mutual affection looks ideal, then in the letters this relationship appears more intense. Proust was not satisfied with his mother's close monitoring of his life, her excessive severity and frugality. He reproached his mother for not wanting to give dinners for his literary friends, limiting his money, and trying to hide his meetings with young people from her. Marcel tried to prove that he “could live without her” From a letter to the writer Maurice Barres. Around January 19, 1906.. Nevertheless, the sudden death of his mother became a great shock for him. The desire to revive those whom he loved since childhood - his mother, grandmother, modest provincial relatives - is one of the foundations of his novel.
Top best quotes about love
People love to talk and read about love. There are aphorisms on this topic that have become world famous and are passed on from mouth to mouth. You can, for example, include the following the top 10 best quotes about love
- “It’s easier to live without love...But without it there is no point” (L. Tolstoy).
- “Old age cannot protect from love, but love can easily protect from old age” (Coco Chanel).
- “To love means to stop comparing” (Bernard Grasset).
- “Love conquers everything except poverty and toothache” (Marina Tsvetaeva).
- “Unrequited love does not humiliate a person, but elevates him” (Alexander Pushkin).
- “A true lover is a man who can excite you by kissing your forehead” (Marilyn Monroe).
- “The search for variety in love is a sign of impotence” (Honoré de Balzac).
- “Love flees those who pursue it, and falls on the necks of those who run away” (William Shakespeare).
- “To resist love is to provide it with new weapons” (Georges Sand).
In literature and on the Internet you can find many more different types of top quotes from famous authors - read them, use the wisdom of others to become wiser yourself.
About art and religion
“Is anti-clerical art possible? All this is not as simple as it seems. What is the future of Catholicism in France, that is, how long and in what forms will its influence continue? No one can even raise this question, because Catholicism, changing, acquires ever greater greatness... <...> The age of Carlyle, Ruskin, Tolstoy... is not an anti-religious age. Even Baudelaire is connected with the Church, if only through his blasphemies.”
From a letter to Georges de Loris. July 29, 1903
Procession on the day of Corpus Christi. Normandy, late 19th - early 20th centuries Région Normandie - Inventaire général
Proust was a Catholic, quoted the Holy Scriptures, and admired ancient churches. He protested against the law adopted in France in 1905 on the separation of Church and state and the restriction of church activities in public places: “Processions on the day of Corpus Christi are my most delightful childhood memory. Hay fever prevents me from going out of town at this time, and in Paris these processions are prohibited, so now I can only see them in my dreams. I have no doubt that soon the sounds of bells will sound only in my memory...” From a letter to Paul Grunebaum-Ballen. January 6, 1905. Paul Grünebaum-Ballen (1871–1969) was Proust’s classmate at the Lyceum and the School of Political Science, and a member of the government since 1904. He took part in the preparation of the law on the separation of Church and state. At the same time, Proust, by his own admission, was far from religious faith. But materialism was also alien to him. “Our only duty is to be worthy of that particle of eternity that is inside us...” - he wrote to Prince Constantin Brankovan, his acquaintance, in 1901.
I want this. So it will be. © HENRY FORD
A big advantage goes to those who made mistakes early enough to learn from. © Winston Churchill
There are no coincidences - everything in this world is either a test, or a punishment, or a reward, or a harbinger. © Voltaire
A person is able to change his life by just changing his point of view. © William James
If you want success and prepare for failure, then you will get exactly what you prepare for. © Florence Sheen
There are only two ways to live life. The first is as if miracles do not exist. The second one is as if there are only miracles all around. © Albert Einstein
If you wake up every morning with the thought that something good will happen today, so it will be. © Will Smith
Everyone wants to change the world, but no one wants to change themselves. © Leo Tolstoy
The hallmark of smart people and leaders: deep relationships with a few people, not superficial ones with everyone. © Henrik Fehnheus
Impossibility is a word from the dictionary of fools. © Napoleon Bonaparte
The great science of living happily is to live only in the present. © Pythagoras
The one who knows how, does it; the one who doesn’t know how, teaches others. © George Bernard Shaw
Think how difficult it is to change yourself, and you will understand how insignificant your ability to change others is. © Voltaire
You like even the shortcomings in a loved one, and even the advantages in an unloved person irritate you. © Omar Khayyam
The one who has nothing to say talks the most. © Leo Tolstoy
Work saves a person from three main evils: boredom, vice and need. © Voltaire
Friendship between a man and a woman is impossible; between them there can be passion, enmity, adoration, love, but not friendship. © Oscar Wilde
A beautiful woman is pleasing to the eyes, but kind to the heart; one is a beautiful thing, and the other a treasure. © Napoleon Bonaparte
Those who are weak at heart need lies. © Maxim Gorky
If life were predictable, it would cease to be life and would lose its taste. © Eleanor Roosevelt
Infinitely small people have infinitely great pride. © Voltaire
a cheerful facial expression is gradually reflected in the inner world. © Immanuel Kant
Improving a person is the meaning of life . © Maxim Gorky
You will never be able to solve a problem if you keep the same thinking and the same approach that led you to this problem. © Albert Einstein
We are slaves to our habits. Change your habits, your life will change. © Robert Kiyosaki
The art of being happy lies in the ability to find happiness in simple things. © Henry Ward Beecher
When faced with difficulties, you cannot give up and run. You must evaluate the situation, look for solutions and believe that everything is being done for the better. Patience is the key to victory. © Nick Vujicic
The difference between someone who achieves something and someone who achieves nothing is determined by who started first. © Charles Schwab
Learn to remain yourself and you will never become a toy in the hands of fate. © Paracelsus
Knowledge is not enough, you must apply it. Wishes are not enough, you must do . © Bruce Lee
If you don't like what you get, change what you give. © Carlos Castaneda
An unmeaning life is not worth living. © Socrates
You will never cross the ocean if you are afraid of losing sight of the shore. © Christopher Columbus
A person cannot do right in one area of his life when he does wrong in others. Life is an indivisible whole. © Mahatma Gandhi
Twenty years from now you will regret more the things you didn't do than the things you did do. Therefore, cast aside your doubts. Sail away from safe harbor. Catch the fair wind with your sails. Explore. Dream. Open it up. © Mark Twain
Anyone who cannot have 2/3 of a day for himself should be called a slave. © Friedrich Nietzsche
We are what we continually do. Therefore, excellence is not an action, but a habit. © Aristotle
Never underestimate yourself. Everything that others do, you can do too. © Brian Tracy
A journey of a thousand miles begins with one single small step. © Lao Tzu
Our destiny is shaped by those small, imperceptible decisions that we make 100 times a day. © Anthony Robbins
About the state of exhaustion
“Montesquiou's letters exhaust me. Every time he gives a lecture, organizes a celebration, etc., he does not allow the thought that I am sick, and first comes orders, threats, visits d'Iturri Gabriel d'Iturri (1860–1905) - secretary and close friend Montesquieu, who wakes me up, and then - reproaches for not coming. It seems to me that recovery would still be possible if there were no “others.” The state of exhaustion into which they bring you...dooms you to death.”
From a letter to Genevieve Strauss. April 28, 1905
Portrait of Count Robert de Montesquiou. Painting by Henri Lucien Doucet. 1879 Château de Versailles
The majestic and influential Comte de Montesquiou played a significant role in the life of Proust, who met him in the spring of 1893. Proust called him a “professor of beauty” and addressed him letters of admiration. In other letters, he assessed the count more critically: “<...> I already wrote to you that I was not at Montesquieu’s lecture, which made him furious. As a result, under the pretext of comparing my insignificant writings with his own, he compared himself to Solomon, and me to an ant. This comparison annoyed me, and I answered him that he always tries to choose a beautiful role... to which he objected: “What makes you think that I choose a beautiful role?” I don’t need to try: I’m already in this role.’” From a letter to Genevieve Strauss dated May 7, 1905. In Proust’s novel, Montesquieu will become the prototype of Baron de Charlus, who personifies the degeneration and hypocrisy of the aristocracy. Proust valued his time much more than prestigious acquaintances, and illness seemed to him a reliable excuse for solitude. However, this did not always sound convincing. Thus, he quotes a letter from one high society lady who was sure that he was having fun, surrounded by “bottles of cider and midnight visitors.” The more Proust immersed himself in creativity, the more his letters complained about asthma and the fact that he could not appear in society. In this regard, a recently discovered note by Proust is interesting: it contains another title for the novel that the writer was considering - “Return to Solitude” by L. Fraise. “Premières années dans la Société... Retour dans la solitude.” Comment Marcel Proust ne sera pas un célibataires de l'art. // Revue d'études proustiennes. No. 12. 2021..
The best inspirational quotes from around the world
1. When I was 5 years old, my mother always said that the main thing in life is happiness. When I went to school, when asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I answered “a happy person.” They then told me that I didn’t understand the question, and I replied that it was they who didn’t understand life. John Lennon
2. You won't grow if you don't try to accomplish something beyond what you already know perfectly. Ralph Emerson
3. Don't be afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living, and it will be given to you according to your faith. William James
4. When it seems that the whole world is against you, remember that the plane takes off against the wind! Henry Ford
5. You can say that you have bad genetics, a bad metabolism, or you can just get your ass off the couch and start working on yourself, set a goal and believe in yourself. In this case, you will definitely achieve success. Arnold Schwarzenegger
6. Life is a game. It all depends on you, your ideas, your thoughts. You just need to get your ass off the couch and move forward, albeit slowly, but to the top! Freddie Mercury
7. Fate is not an accident, but a subject of choice; it is not expected, but conquered. William Bryan
8. Don't say that you don't have time. You have exactly the same amount of time as Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein had. Jackson Brown
9. Not all wheels have been invented yet: the world is too amazing to sit idly by. Richard Branson
10. If you are going to one day create something great, remember that one great day is today. Steven Spielberg
//youtu.be/tlV24dKEuvY
11. You have to work not 12 hours a day, but with your head. Steve Jobs
12. If you feel like you're giving up, remember why you were holding on before. Jared Leto
13. Spending your entire life in fear without ever achieving a single dream is cruel. Working hard for money and thinking that it will buy you things that will make you happy is scary. Robert T. Kiyosaki
14. He slid, climbed, fell, got up, felt his way and stubbornly walked forward - that’s all. This is the secret of every victory. Victor Hugo
15. When you give up your dream, you will turn into a vegetable. Just know that. Bert Monroe
16. You need to move towards what you want, and not run away from what you don’t like. Valery Sinelnikov
17. You must have a dream so that you can get up in the morning. Billy Wilder
18. Once you start, win. Ernest Hemingway
19. Be calm when they want to elevate a vile fool with your creation. Let the world collapse - YOU be strong in patience, Take your sword - and fight to the end.
Joseph Rudyard Kipling
20. Are you familiar with the expression “you can’t jump over your head”? It's a delusion. A person can do anything. Nikola Tesla
21. If you decide to do something, but don’t start doing it within 72 hours, in 85% of cases you will never do it. Bodo Schaefer
22. Always be at war with your shortcomings, at peace with your neighbors, and find yourself a better person every New Year. Benjamin Franklin
23. I don't play against a specific team. I play against the very thought of defeat. Eric Cantona
24. Think about how much you could do if it weren’t for someone else’s opinion. Stephen Covey
25. Look ahead without fuss. Look back without horror. Be straight and proud, shattered from the inside, hard to the touch.
Joseph Brodsky
26. If you can't be first, be the best. If you can't be the best, be the first. Madonna
27. Aim for the impossible. Climb a few steps, since by the will of fate you find yourself at the foot. Climb up until the ladder is pulled out. It will be scary - pray, but don’t give up. Paulo Coelho
28. Don't be afraid to do what you don't know how to do. Remember, the ark was built by an amateur; professionals built the Titanic. Dave Berry
29. Only those who fight win. Louis Antoine Saint-Just
30. The greatest glory comes not to the one who has never fallen, but to the one who rises as high as possible after each fall. Nelson Mandella
31. You only live once, only once. Make up your mind. The Great Gatsby
32. Poor, unsuccessful, unhappy and unhealthy is the one who often uses the word “tomorrow”. Robert Kiyosaki
33. I want this. So it will be. Henry Ford
34. Believe that you can, and half the way has already been completed. Theodore Roosevelt
35. The most effective way to do something is to do it. Amelia Earhart
36. Success is the ability to move from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm. Winston Churchill
37. There are two types of people who will tell you that you cannot achieve something: those who are afraid to try themselves, and those who are afraid that you will succeed. Ray Goforth
38. Never, never, never, never give up. Winston Churchill's speech to Harrow College students
39. Only those who do nothing make no mistakes! Don't be afraid to make mistakes - don't be afraid to repeat mistakes! Theodore Roosevelt
40. If you stop every time you are insulted or spat at, then you will never get to the place where you need to go. Tibor Fischer
41. Opportunities don't really just appear. You create them yourself. Chris Grosser
42. Many people lose power because they think they don't have it. Alice Walker
43. The difference between those who achieved something and those who achieved nothing is determined by who started earlier. Charles Schwab
44. The starting point of any success is desire. Napoleon Hill
45. I did not suffer defeats. I just found 10,000 ways that don't work. Thomas Edison
46. Even if you are very talented and put in a lot of effort, some results just take time: you won't get a baby in a month even if you get nine women pregnant. Warren Buffett
47. It is not the strongest species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one that best adapts to change. Charles Darwin
48. You should not compare yourself with others, and if nature created you as a bat, you should not try to become an ostrich. Hermann Hoesse
49. All progress happens outside your comfort zone. Michael John Bobak
50. If you think you are too small to be effective, then you have never fallen asleep with a mosquito in the room. Betty Reese
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51. Your well-being depends on your own decisions. John Rockefeller
52. Dance as if no one is watching. Mark Twain
53. I am convinced that half of what separates successful entrepreneurs from unsuccessful ones is persistence. Steve Jobs
54. To succeed, you need to separate yourself from 98% of the world's population. Donald Trump
55. Knowledge is not enough, you must apply it. Desire is not enough, you have to do. Bruce Lee
Read further: The process of human personality development
56. Success is most associated with action. Successful people keep trying. They make mistakes, but they don't stop. Kondar Hilton
57. Always choose the difficult, difficult path - you will not meet competitors on it. Charles de Gaulle
58. Our greatest glory is not that we have never failed, but that we have always risen after falling. Ralph Emerson
59. The air is full of ideas. They are constantly knocking on your head. You just have to know what you want, forget it and do your own thing. The idea will come suddenly. It has always been this way. Henry Ford
60. Successful people do what unsuccessful people don’t want to do. Don't strive for it to be easier, strive for it to be better. Jim Rohn
61. A ship is safer in a port, but that’s not what it was built for. Grace Hopper
62. It takes 20 years to build a reputation and 5 minutes to destroy it. You will approach things differently if you think about it. Warren Buffett
63. If during the work week all you do is count how many hours and minutes are left before the weekend starts, you will never become a billionaire. Donald Trump
64. If you want to increase your level of success, double your number of failures. Thomas Watson
65. I've missed over 9,000 shots in my career and lost almost 300 games. 26 times I was trusted to take the final winning shot and missed. I failed again and again and again. And that's why I was successful. Michael Jordan
66. The most important things in the world have been accomplished by people who kept trying even when there was no hope left. Dale Carnegie
67. I owe my success to the fact that I never made excuses or accepted excuses from others. Florence Nightingale
68. A meaningless life is not worth living. Socrates
69. There is no word “impossible” in my dictionary. Napoleon Bonaparte
70. You will never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore. Christopher Columbus
71. They often say that motivation doesn’t last long. But the same thing happens with a refreshing shower, which is why it is recommended to take it daily. Zig Ziglar
72. It's all in the thoughts. Thought is the beginning of everything. And thoughts can be controlled. And therefore, the main thing to improve is to work on thoughts. Lev Tolstoy
73. There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing and be nothing.
Aristotle
74. Walk confidently towards your dreams. Live the life you created for yourself.
Henry David Thoreau
75. It is better to be sure of a good result than to hope for an excellent one. Warren Buffett
76. You shouldn’t blame a child for being afraid of the dark. A real tragedy is when an adult is afraid of the light. Plato
77. It’s not your problems that should push you behind, but your dreams that should lead you forward. Douglas Everett
78. Everything has its own beauty, but not everyone can see it. Confucius
79. If there is no wind, take up the oars. Latin proverb
80. Everyone wants to change humanity, but no one thinks about how to change themselves. Lev Tolstoy
81. I didn't fail the test. I just found a hundred ways to spell it wrong. Benjamin Franklin
82. I am sure: you should not let the wretched word “impossible” stop you. Richard Branson
83. I would rather die of passion than of boredom. Vincent van Gogh
84. If you want to build a ship, you don’t need to call people, plan, divide the work, get tools. We need to infect people with the desire for the endless sea. Then they will build the ship themselves. Antoine de Saint-Exupery
85. One completed productive task is worth fifty half-finished tasks. Malcolm Forbes
86. Our life begins to come to an end when we stop talking about the really important things. Martin Luther King Jr.
87. Trouble does not come alone, but neither does good luck. Romain Rolland
88. The world is divided into two classes - some believe in the incredible, others do the impossible. Oscar Wilde
89. The question is not who will allow me, but who can forbid me. Ayn Rand
90. Either write something worthwhile or do something worth writing about. Benjamin Franklin
91. The only way to do something very well is to love what you do. Steve Jobs
92. I didn’t have working days or rest days. I just did it and enjoyed it. Thomas Edison
93. If you are not willing to risk the ordinary, you will have to settle for the ordinary. Jim Rohn
94. Don't ask what the world needs - ask yourself what fills you with life. The world needs people filled with life. Howard Truman
95. The best way to take on something is to stop talking and start doing. Walt Disney
96. We are slaves to our habits. Change your habits, your life will change. Robert Kiyosaki
97. You will have failures. You will have injuries. You will be wrong. You will have periods of depression and despair. Family, study, work, everyday problems - all this will become a hindrance more than once or twice. However, the arrow of your internal compass should always point in the same direction - towards the goal. Stuart McRobert
98. The art of being happy lies in the ability to find happiness in simple things. Henry Ward Beecher
99. When faced with difficulties, you must not give up or run. You must evaluate the situation, look for solutions and believe that everything is being done for the better. Patience is the key to victory. Nick Vujicic
100. There should be no limits for us. Richard Bach
101. Surround yourself only with those people who will pull you higher. It’s just that life is already full of those who want to pull you down. George Clooney
102. Learn to remain yourself and you will never become a toy in the hands of fate. Paracelsus
103. First of all, don’t do anything without a reason or purpose. Secondly, do not do anything that does not benefit society. Marcus Aurelius
104. If you don't like what you get, change what you give. Carlos Castaneda
105. All victories begin with victory over oneself. Leonid Leonov
106. Desires that arise must be realized without delay. And then all the pleasure disappears. If you wanted to, you did it, why wait, life is short. Here and now! Mikhail Weller
107. You can neither win nor lose until you race. David Bowie
108. Whatever you come up with, there will always be someone who has already done it before you. So the main thing is to do it better. Adriano Celentano
109. Sleep. Dream. Wake up. Take action. Come up with it. Fight. Win. Sleep. Dream. Jared Leto
110. Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Take action! Action will describe and define you. Thomas Jefferson
111. Dream as if you will live forever. Live as if you were dying today. James Dean
112. If you want to succeed, ask yourself 4 questions: Why? Why not? Why not me? Why not right now? Jimmy Dean
113. Our destiny is shaped by those small, imperceptible decisions that we make 100 times a day. Anthony Robbins
114. . Failure is simply an opportunity to start again, but more wisely. Henry Ford
115. When you wake up in the morning, ask yourself: “What should I do?” In the evening before falling asleep: “What have I done?” Pythagoras
116. I used to say, “I hope things change.” Then I realized that the only way for everything to change is to change myself. Jim Rohn
117. A warrior acts, but a fool protests. Peaceful warrior
Read more: 10 reasons why you should never get a job
118. It is better to illuminate one small candle than to curse the darkness. Chinese proverb
119. Life is a big canvas and you should throw all the paint you can onto it. Danny Kaye
120. A successful person is always an amazing artist of his imagination. Imagination is much more important than knowledge, because knowledge is limited, but imagination is unlimited. Albert Einstein
121. Never underestimate yourself. Everything that others do, you can do too. Brian Tracy
122. Great minds set goals for themselves; other people follow their desires. Washington Irving
123. If you give up on your dreams, what will be left? Jim carrey
124. When you introduce any innovations, be prepared to be called crazy. Larry Ellison
125. Great souls have will, but weak ones have only desires. Chinese proverb
126. Do things with people you like and who share your goals. Warren Buffett
127. We are the masters of our destiny. We are the captains of our souls. Winston Churchill
128. You are never too old for that. To set a new goal or dream about something new. Clive Staples Lewis
129. Anyone who cannot have 2/3 of a day for himself should be called a slave. Friedrich Nietzsche
130. Anyone who wants to see the results of his work immediately should become a shoemaker. Albert Einstein
131. In twenty years, you will regret the things you didn't do more than the things you did do. Therefore, cast aside your doubts. Sail away from safe harbor. Catch the fair wind with your sails. Explore. Dream. Open it up. Mark Twain
132. If you don’t learn to control yourself, others will control you. Khasai Aliyev
134. Instead of complaining that a rose has thorns, I rejoice that a rose grows among the thorns. Joseph Joubert
135. Life is not measured by the number of our breaths, but by the number of moments that take our breath away. Maya Angelou
136. Start copying what you like. Copy. Copy. Copy. And you will find yourself. Yoji Yamamoto
137. The real hobby of our generation is whining and stupid chatter about nothing. Failed relationships, problems with school, the boss is an asshole. This is all complete bullshit. If nothing works out for you, then there is only one asshole - that's you. And you will be very surprised if you find out how much you can change just by getting your ass off the couch. George Carlin
138. Tomorrow is the first blank page of a book of 365 pages. Write a good book. Brad Paisley
139. It’s a strange thing: people have been struggling for so many years, looking for the meaning of life, but you just need to be happy, that’s all. Fannie Flagg
140. The meaning of our life is not to receive something, but to give something and become someone. Tony Robbins
141. The purpose of life is self-expression. To manifest our essence in its entirety is what we live for. And in our age, people have become afraid of themselves. They have forgotten that the highest duty is duty to oneself. Of course they are merciful. They will feed the hungry and clothe the poor. But their own souls are naked and starving. We have lost our courage. Or maybe we never had one. Fear of public opinion, this basis of morality and fear of God, the fear on which religion rests, is what rules over us. Oscar Wilde
142. Strive not to achieve success, but to ensure that your life has meaning. Albert Einstein
143. Life will fly by like one moment. Appreciate it, draw pleasure from it. As you spend it, so it will pass. Don’t forget: she is your creation.
Omar Khayyam
144. You don’t even notice that your dreams are coming true, you never have enough! Unknown author
145. Just as complete darkness is necessary for a pearl, so suffering is necessary for the soul and mind. Have you lost everything and your soul is empty? This cup will fill itself again!
Omar Khayyam
146. The lower a person’s soul, the higher his nose lifts. He reaches with his nose to where his soul has not grown. Omar Khayyam
147. You give someone a change and he will remember it forever, you give your life to someone, but he won’t remember. Omar Khayyam
148. Isn’t it funny to save a penny all your life, If you still can’t buy eternal life? This life was given to you, my dear, for a while, - Try not to miss the time!
Omar Khayyam
149. If you like something, then you can make it a profitable activity, regardless of your field of activity. Harvey Mackay
150. Take a step and the road will appear by itself. Steve Jobs
