Meandering in the stacks . . .

Today is the birthday of Marie-Henri Beyle (January 23, 1783 – March 23, 1842), writer. He is best known by his penname Stendhal and for the Stendhal syndrome. He is considered one of the foremost practitioners of realism and to many as the founder. His two novels, Le Rouge et le Noir (1830) and La Chartreuse de Parme (1839) played a major role in the development of the modern novel.

"Almost all our misfortunes in life come from the wrong notions we have about the things that happen to us. To know men thoroughly, to judge events sanely, is, therefore, a great step towards happiness." - Stendhal

"One can acquire everything in solitude - except character." - Stendhal

"A very small degree of hope is sufficient to cause the birth of love." - Stendhal

"Since I am a man, my heart is three or four times less sensitive, because I have three or four times as much power of reason and experience of the world — a thing which you women call hard-heartedness." - Stendhal

"In love, unlike most other passions, the recollection of what you have had and lost is always better than what you can hope for in the future." - Stendhal

"Love has always been the most important business in my life; I should say the only one." - Stendhal

Stendhal image source (1)