Paul Valery

A man who is "of sound mind" is one who keeps the inner madman under lock and key. 

Paul Valery 

A man's true secrets are more secret to himself than they are to others. 

Paul Valery 

A poem is never finished, only abandoned. 

Paul Valery 

A businessman is a hybrid of a dancer and a calculator. 

Paul Valery 

A great man is one who leaves others at a loss after he is gone. 

Paul Valery 

A man is a poet if difficulties inherent in his art provide him with ideas; he is not a poet if they deprive him of ideas. 

Paul Valery 

A man is infinitely more complicated than his thoughts. 

Paul Valery 

An artist never really finishes his work, he merely abandons it. 

Paul Valery 

At times I think and at times I am. 

Paul Valery 

Books have the same enemies as people: fire, humidity, animals, weather, and their own content. 

Paul Valery