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76 André Gide Quotes – Father of Modern French Literature

Andre Gide Quotes to Make You Think & Uplift You

He who wants a rose must respect her thorn.Pin
He who wants a rose must respect her thorn.
Envying another man’s happiness is madness; you wouldn’t know what to do with it if you had it.Pin
Envying another man’s happiness is madness; you wouldn’t know what to do with it if you had it.
It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for something you are not.Pin
It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for something you are not.
Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.Pin
Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.
The funny thing about love is that it must continually grow or it will diminish.Pin
The funny thing about love is that it must continually grow or it will diminish.
It is only in adventure that some people succeed in knowing themselves - in finding themselves.Pin
It is only in adventure that some people succeed in knowing themselves – in finding themselves.
Complete possession is proved only by giving. All you are unable to give possesses you.Pin
Complete possession is proved only by giving. All you are unable to give possesses you.
There is a law in life: when one door closes to us another one opens.Pin
There is a law in life: when one door closes to us another one opens.
Too chaste a youth leads to a dissolute old age.Pin
Too chaste a youth leads to a dissolute old age.
To know how to free oneself is nothing; the arduous thing is to know what to do with one's freedom.Pin
To know how to free oneself is nothing; the arduous thing is to know what to do with one’s freedom.
Dare to be yourself.Pin
Dare to be yourself.
A man thinks he owns things, and it is he who is owned.Pin
A man thinks he owns things, and it is he who is owned.
The most decisive actions of our life - I mean those that are most likely to decide the whole course of our future - are, more often than not, unconsidered.Pin
The most decisive actions of our life – I mean those that are most likely to decide the whole course of our future – are, more often than not, unconsidered.
Prejudices are the props of civilization.Pin
Prejudices are the props of civilization.
The most gifted natures are perhaps also the most trembling.Pin
The most gifted natures are perhaps also the most trembling.
L'acte gratuite. The unmotivated action.Pin
L’acte gratuite. The unmotivated action.
It is easier to lead men to combat, stirring up their passion, than to restrain them and direct them toward the patient labors of peace.Pin
It is easier to lead men to combat, stirring up their passion, than to restrain them and direct them toward the patient labors of peace.
Be faithful to that which exists within yourself.Pin
Be faithful to that which exists within yourself.
Nothing prevents happiness like the memory of happiness.Pin
Nothing prevents happiness like the memory of happiness.
Everything has been said before, but since nobody listens we have to keep going back and begin all over again.Pin
Everything has been said before, but since nobody listens we have to keep going back and begin all over again.
A straight path never leads anywhere except to the objective.Pin
A straight path never leads anywhere except to the objective.
Society knows perfectly well how to kill a man and has methods more subtle than death.Pin
Society knows perfectly well how to kill a man and has methods more subtle than death.
Welcome anything that comes to you, but do not long for anything else.Pin
Welcome anything that comes to you, but do not long for anything else.
'Therefore' is a word the poet must not know.Pin
‘Therefore’ is a word the poet must not know.
Art begins with resistance - at the point where resistance is overcome. No human masterpiece has ever been created without great labor.Pin
Art begins with resistance – at the point where resistance is overcome. No human masterpiece has ever been created without great labor.
Art is a collaboration between God and the artist, and the less the artist does the better.Pin
Art is a collaboration between God and the artist, and the less the artist does the better.
There is no prejudice that the work of art does not finally overcome.Pin
There is no prejudice that the work of art does not finally overcome.
One should want only one thing and want it constantly. Then one is sure of getting it. But I desire everything, and consequently get nothing.”Pin
One should want only one thing and want it constantly. Then one is sure of getting it. But I desire everything, and consequently get nothing.
Know that joy is rarer, more difficult, and more beautiful than sadness. Once you make this all-important discovery, you must embrace joy as a moral obligation.Pin
Know that joy is rarer, more difficult, and more beautiful than sadness. Once you make this all-important discovery, you must embrace joy as a moral obligation.
Seize from every moment its unique novelty and do not prepare your joys.Pin
Seize from every moment its unique novelty and do not prepare your joys.
Sin is whatever obscures the soul.Pin
Sin is whatever obscures the soul.
Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it.Pin
Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it.
Nothing is so silly as the expression of a man who is being complimented.Pin
Nothing is so silly as the expression of a man who is being complimented.
The true hypocrite is the one who ceases to perceive his deception, the one who lies with sincerity.Pin
The true hypocrite is the one who ceases to perceive his deception, the one who lies with sincerity.
There are very few monsters who warrant the fear we have of them.Pin
There are very few monsters who warrant the fear we have of them.

I owe much to my friends; but, all things considered, it strikes me that I owe even more to my enemies. The real person springs life under a sting even better than under a caress.”

Andre Gide
The most important things to say are those which often I did not think necessary for me to say - because they were too obvious.Pin
The most important things to say are those which often I did not think necessary for me to say – because they were too obvious.
Know thyself! A maxim as pernicious as it is ugly.Pin
Know thyself! A maxim as pernicious as it is ugly.
Whoever observes himself arrests his own development. A caterpillar who wanted to know itself well would never become a butterfly.Pin
Whoever observes himself arrests his own development. A caterpillar who wanted to know itself well would never become a butterfly.
The most beautiful things are those that madness prompts and reason writes.Pin
The most beautiful things are those that madness prompts and reason writes.
What would there be in a story of happiness? Only what prepares it, only what destroys it can be told.Pin
What would there be in a story of happiness? Only what prepares it, only what destroys it can be told.
It is good to follow one's own bent, so long as it leads upward.Pin
It is good to follow one’s own bent, so long as it leads upward.
Be faithful to that which exists nowhere but in yourself-and thus make yourself indispensable.Pin
Be faithful to that which exists nowhere but in yourself-and thus make yourself indispensable.
Only fools don't contradict themselves.Pin
Only fools don’t contradict themselves.
To what a degree the same past can leave different marks - and especially admit of different interpretations.Pin
To what a degree the same past can leave different marks – and especially admit of different interpretations.
Man is more interesting than men. God made him and not them in his image. Each one is more precious than all.Pin
Man is more interesting than men. God made him and not them in his image. Each one is more precious than all.

It is not always by plugging away at a difficulty and sticking to it that one overcomes it; often it is by working on the one next to it. Some things and some people have to be approached obliquely, at an angle.”

Andre Gide
What thwarts us and demands of us the greatest effort is also what can teach us most.Pin
What thwarts us and demands of us the greatest effort is also what can teach us most.
The want of logic annoys. Too much logic bores. Life eludes logic, and everything that logic alone constructs remains artificial and forced.Pin
The want of logic annoys. Too much logic bores. Life eludes logic, and everything that logic alone constructs remains artificial and forced.
It is now, and in this world, that we must live.Pin
It is now, and in this world, that we must live.
God depends on us. It is through us that God is achieved.Pin
God depends on us. It is through us that God is achieved.
To read a writer is for me not merely to get an idea of what he says, but to go off with him and travel in his company.Pin
To read a writer is for me not merely to get an idea of what he says, but to go off with him and travel in his company.
Christianity, above all, consoles; but there are naturally happy souls who do not need consolation.Pin
Christianity, above all, consoles; but there are naturally happy souls who do not need consolation.

Through loyalty to the past, our mind refuses to realize that tomorrow’s joy is possible only if today’s makes way for it; that each wave owes the beauty of its line only to the withdrawal of the preceding one.”

Andre Gide
Fear of ridicule begets the worst cowardice.Pin
Fear of ridicule begets the worst cowardice.
Every instant of our lives is essentially irreplaceable - you must know this in order to concentrate on life.Pin
Every instant of our lives is essentially irreplaceable – you must know this in order to concentrate on life.
No theory is good unless it permits, not rest, but the greatest work. No theory is good except on condition that one use it to go on beyond.Pin
No theory is good unless it permits, not rest, but the greatest work. No theory is good except on condition that one uses it to go on beyond.
Work and struggle and never accept an evil that you can change.Pin
Work and struggle and never accept an evil that you can change.
The scholar seeks truth, the artist finds.Pin
The scholar seeks truth, the artist finds.
Great authors are admirable in this respect - in every generation they make for disagreement. Through them we become aware of our differences.Pin
Great authors are admirable in this respect – in every generation they make for disagreement. Through them we become aware of our differences.
Most quarrels amplify a misunderstanding.Pin
Most quarrels amplify a misunderstanding.
Nothing is more fatal to happiness than the remembrance of happiness.Pin
Nothing is more fatal to happiness than the remembrance of happiness.
Because it was natural, could he not see that it was marvellous?Pin
Because it was natural, could he not see that it was marvellous?
Understand that the only possession of any value is life.Pin
Understand that the only possession of any value is life.
But can one still make resolutions when one is over forty? I live according to twenty-year-old habits.Pin
But can one still make resolutions when one is over forty? I live according to twenty-year-old habits.
Are you then unable to recognize unless it has the same sound as yours?Pin
Are you then unable to recognize unless it has the same sound as yours?
The wise man is astonished by anything.Pin
The wise man is astonished by anything.
It is with noble sentiments that bad literature gets written.Pin
It is with noble sentiments that bad literature gets written.
Whoever starts out toward the unknown must consent to venture alone.Pin
Whoever starts out toward the unknown must consent to venture alone.
The individual never asserts himself more than when he forgets himself.Pin
The individual never asserts himself more than when he forgets himself.
We should enjoy this summer, flower by flower, as if it were to be the last one we’ll see.Pin
We should enjoy this summer, flower by flower, as if it were to be the last one we’ll see.
A dry is useful during conscious, intentional, and painful spiritual evolutions.Pin
A dry is useful during conscious, intentional, and painful spiritual evolutions.
Sadness is almost never anything but a form of fatigue.Pin
Sadness is almost never anything but a form of fatigue.
The capacity to get free is nothing; the capacity to be free is the task.Pin
The capacity to get free is nothing; the capacity to be free is the task.
When you have nothing to say or to hide, there is no need to be prudent.Pin
When you have nothing to say or to hide, there is no need to be prudent.
The sole art that suits me is that which, rising from unrest, tends toward serenity.Pin
The sole art that suits me is that which, rising from unrest, tends toward serenity.
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André Gide Short Biography

A French author, humanist, moralist, dramatist, and novelist, André Gide (full name: André Paul Guillaume Gide) is one of the most influential writers in the 20th century and the winner of the Nobel Price in Literature in 1947.

Dubbed the father of modern French literature, Gide is the author of more than 50 books including the classic literature and best-seller The Immoralist.

He was distinguished for his explorations of the human conflict between narrow social moralism, freedom, and empowerment through self-discovery. 

One should want only one thing and want it constantly. Then one is sure of getting it.”

André Gide

Upon his death in 1951, Gide was described as “France’s greatest contemporary man of letters” by The New York Times and “The greatest French writer of this century” by the literary cognoscenti.

Further reading:

Here are the most inspiring André Gide quotes so you can be motivated and empowered through self-discovery.

(MUST READ)

The Counterfeiters: A Novel (Vintage International)Pin
The Counterfeiters: A Novel (Vintage International)

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ANDRÉ-GIDE-QUOTES-–The-FATHER-OF-MODERN-FRENCH-LITERATURE-Gracious-QuotesPin
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