Authors: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

66 Quotes & Sayings By Colette, The Renowned French Novelist

Famous As: Best Known for Her Novel 'Gigi'
Born On: 1873
Died On: 1954
Born In: Saint-Sauveur-en-Puisaye, France
Died At Age: 81
Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, popularly known as Colette, was a French novelist, actress and journalist, who went on to become one of the best known authors in the first half of the 20th century. She was born in a prominent family in France and was sent to school; which was something that was rare among girl children at the time. After her marriage to publisher Henry Gauthier-Villars in 1893 her career as an author really took off. Colette’s earliest works were the ‘Claudine stories’ which were published in 4 parts titled ‘Claudine in School’, ‘Claudine in Paris’, ‘Claudine Married’ and ‘Claudine and Annie’. During the First World War, she worked as a journalist but she also contin-ued with her writing at the same time. Some of her noted works include’ La Vagabonde’, ‘Mistou’, ‘La Ble en Herbe’, ‘Cheri, Sido’, ‘Duo’ and ‘Le Kepi’ among others. However, her most famous work among the many novels that Colette has written is ‘Gigi’, published in 1944 that was later made into a film and also a play. Colette’s sterling work throughout her career earned her a nomination in the 1948 Nobel Prize in Literature. Her writings covered several subjects and viewpoints. Here is a collection of thoughts, quotation and sayings by Colette on foolishness, silliness, flowers, letters, enthusiasm, animals, companions, inspiration, creativity and friends. These quotes have been excerpted from Colette's novels, stories and writings.
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You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm.

You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm.

Colette
I went to collect the few personal belongings which...I held to be invaluable: my cat, my resolve to travel, and my solitude.

I went to collect the few personal belongings which...I held to be invaluable: my cat, my resolve to travel, and my solitude.

Colette
Time spent with a cat is never wasted.

Time spent with a cat is never wasted.

Colette
Put down everything that comes into your head and then you're a writer. But an author is one who can judge his own stuff's worth, without pity, and destroy most of it.

Put down everything that comes into your head and then you're a writer. But an author is one who can judge his own stuff's worth, without pity, and destroy most of it." (Casual Chance, 1964)

Colette
There are days when solitude is a heady wine that intoxicates you with freedom, others when it is a bitter tonic, and still others when it is a poison that makes you beat your head against the wall.

There are days when solitude is a heady wine that intoxicates you with freedom, others when it is a bitter tonic, and still others when it is a poison that makes you beat your head against the wall.

Colette
There are no ordinary cats.

There are no ordinary cats.

Colette
Hope costs nothing.

Hope costs nothing.

Colette
Our perfect companions never have fewer than four feet.

Our perfect companions never have fewer than four feet.

Colette
In its early stages, insomnia is almost an oasis in which those who have to think or suffer darkly take refuge.

In its early stages, insomnia is almost an oasis in which those who have to think or suffer darkly take refuge.

Colette
No one asked you to be happy. Get to work.

No one asked you to be happy. Get to work.

Colette
What a wonderful life I’ve had! I only wish I’d realized it sooner.

What a wonderful life I’ve had! I only wish I’d realized it sooner.

Colette
I love my past. I love my present. I'm not ashamed of what I've had, and I'm not sad because I have it no longer.

I love my past. I love my present. I'm not ashamed of what I've had, and I'm not sad because I have it no longer.

Colette
Be happy.
It's one way of being wise.

Be happy. It's one way of being wise.

Colette
Look for a long time at what pleases you, and longer still at what pains you...

Look for a long time at what pleases you, and longer still at what pains you...

Colette
If he's getting married, he's not longer interesting.

If he's getting married, he's not longer interesting.

Colette
When she raises her eyelids, it's as if she were taking off all her clothes.

When she raises her eyelids, it's as if she were taking off all her clothes.

Colette
The woman who thinks she is intelligent demands equal rights with men. A woman who is intelligent does not.

The woman who thinks she is intelligent demands equal rights with men. A woman who is intelligent does not.

Colette
I did not look for her, because I was afraid of dispelling the mystery we attach to people whom we know only casually.

I did not look for her, because I was afraid of dispelling the mystery we attach to people whom we know only casually.

Colette
I want nothing from love, in short, but love.

I want nothing from love, in short, but love.

Colette
Total absence of humor renders life impossible.

Total absence of humor renders life impossible.

Colette
Music is love in search of a word.

Music is love in search of a word.

Colette
To a poet, silence is an acceptable response, even a flattering one.

To a poet, silence is an acceptable response, even a flattering one.

Colette
I have found my voice again and the art of using it...

I have found my voice again and the art of using it...

Colette
So now, whenever I despair, I no longer expect my end, but some bit of luck, some commonplace little miracle which, like a glittering link, will mend again the necklace of my days.

So now, whenever I despair, I no longer expect my end, but some bit of luck, some commonplace little miracle which, like a glittering link, will mend again the necklace of my days.

Colette
To be astonished is one of the surest ways of not growing old too quickly.

To be astonished is one of the surest ways of not growing old too quickly.

Colette
Then, bidding farewell to The Knick-Knack, I went to collect the few personal belongings which, at that time, I held to be invaluable: my cat, my resolve to travel, and my solitude.

Then, bidding farewell to The Knick-Knack, I went to collect the few personal belongings which, at that time, I held to be invaluable: my cat, my resolve to travel, and my solitude.

Colette
If I can’t have too many truffles, I’ll do without truffles.

If I can’t have too many truffles, I’ll do without truffles.

Colette
Live in the moment!

Live in the moment!

Colette
Youth is not the age to seduce, it's the age to be seduced.

Youth is not the age to seduce, it's the age to be seduced.

Colette
It is the image in the mind that links us to our lost treasures; but it is the loss that shapes the image, gathers the flowers, weaves the garland.

It is the image in the mind that links us to our lost treasures; but it is the loss that shapes the image, gathers the flowers, weaves the garland.

Colette