Andre Gide

Andre Gide

24 quotes

Known primarily as a French author and Nobel laureate, Andre Gide also happens to be one of the most quotable figures in our collection. Whether reflecting on Art or Work, Andre Gide brought uncommon clarity to every subject. 28 of Andre Gide's sharpest quotes live here, spanning themes of Art, Work, Truth, Happiness, and Beauty. Consider this gem from Andre Gide: "'Therefore' is a word the poet must not know."

“What would there be in a story of happiness? Only what prepares it, only what destroys it can be told.”

— Andre Gide

Happiness

All Quotes by Andre Gide

“'Therefore' is a word the poet must not know.”

— Andre Gide

Poetry

“Great authors are admirable in this respect: in every generation they make for disagreement. Through them we become aware of our differences.”

— Andre Gide

Respect

“One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.”

— Andre Gide

Time

“Everything has been said before, but since nobody listens we have to keep going back and beginning all over again.”

— Andre Gide

Experience

“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

Beauty

“It is unthinkable for a Frenchman to arrive at middle age without having syphilis and the Cross of the Legion of Honor.”

— Andre Gide

Age

“The want of logic annoys. Too much logic bores. Life eludes logic, and everything that logic alone constructs remains artificial and forced.”

— Andre Gide

Alone

“Art begins with resistance - at the point where resistance is overcome. No human masterpiece has ever been created without great labor.”

— Andre Gide

Art

“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.”

— Andre Gide

Travel

“Art is a collaboration between God and the artist, and the less the artist does the better.”

— Andre Gide

Art

“Nothing prevents happiness like the memory of happiness.”

— Andre Gide

Happiness

“Old hands soil, it seems, whatever they caress, but they too have their beauty when they are joined in prayer. Young hands were made for caresses and the sheathing of love. It is a pity to make them join too soon.”

— Andre Gide

Beauty

“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.”

— Andre Gide

Courage

“Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it.”

— Andre Gide

Truth

“Be faithful to that which exists within yourself.”

— Andre Gide

Inspirational

“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.”

— Andre Gide

Men

“There are very few monsters who warrant the fear we have of them.”

— Andre Gide

Fear

“The sole art that suits me is that which, rising from unrest, tends toward serenity.”

— Andre Gide

Art

“Work and struggle and never accept an evil that you can change.”

— Andre Gide

Change

“The color of truth is gray.”

— Andre Gide

Truth