Sarah Bernhardt

We ought to hate very rarely, as it is too fatiguing; remain indifferent to a great deal, forgive often and never forget.

Life is short, even for those who live a long time, and we must live for the few who know and appreciate us, who judge and absolve us, and for whom we have the same affection and indulgence.

I cannot walk a single step or make any movement or gesture, sit down, go out, look at the sky or ground, without feeling some reason for hope or despair, until at last, exasperated by the trammels put upon my actions by my thought, I defy …

Those who know the joys and miseries of celebrity when they have passed the age of forty know how to defend themselves.

My fame had become annoying for my enemies, and a little trying, I confess, for my friends.

Victor Hugo could not promise without keeping his word. He was not like me: I promise everything with the firm intention of keeping my promises, and two hours after I have forgotten all about them.

Once the curtain is raised, the actor ceases to belong to himself. He belongs to his character, to his author, to his public.