Quotes from The Count of Monte Cristo

Quotations follow the Robin Buss translation (Penguin Classics, 2003) — our recommended edition.

1. 2

   Live, then, and be happy, beloved children of my heart, and never forget that until the day when God shall deign to reveal the future to man, all human wisdom is summed up in these two words,—'Wait and hope.'

2. 3

   Life is a storm, my young friend. You will bask in the sunlight one moment, be shattered on the rocks the next.

3. 4

   There is neither happiness nor misery in the world; there is only the comparison of one state with another, nothing more. He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness.

4. 5

   We must have felt what it is to die, Morrel, that we may appreciate the enjoyments of living.

5. 6

   Happiness is like the enchanted palaces we read of in our childhood, where fierce, fiery dragons defend the entrance and approach; and monsters of all shapes and kinds, requiring to be overcome ere victory is ours.

6. 7

   Moral wounds have this peculiarity,—they may be hidden, but they never close; always painful, always ready to bleed when touched, they remain fresh and open in the heart.

7. 8

   Hatred is blind, rage carries you away; and he who pours out vengeance runs the risk of tasting a bitter draught.

8. 9

   Every man has a devouring passion in his heart, as every fruit has its worm.

9. 10

   To learn is not to know; there are the learners and the learned. Memory makes the one, philosophy the other.

10. 11

    Private misfortunes must never be allowed to interfere with business.

11. 12

    Human knowledge is confined within very narrow limits.

12. 13

    We are never quits with those who oblige us, for when we do not owe them money, we owe them gratitude.

13. 14

    I am not proud, but I am happy; and happiness blinds, I think, more than pride.

14. 15

    I am not proud, but I am happy, and happiness blinds, I think, more than pride.