This life is a hospital in which every patient is possessed with a desire to change his bed. Charles Baudelaire on change
Common sense tells us that the things of the earth exist only a little, and that true reality is only in dreams. Charles Baudelaire on dreams
The lover of life makes the whole world into his family, just as the lover of the fair sex creates his from all the lovely women he has found, from those that could be found, and those who are impossible to find. Charles Baudelaire on family
For the merchant, even honesty is a financial speculation. Charles Baudelaire on finance
Any healthy man can go without food for two days - but not without poetry. Charles Baudelaire on food
There are as many kinds of beauty as there are habitual ways of seeking happiness. Charles Baudelaire on happiness
I love Wagner, but the music I prefer is that of a cat hung up by its tail outside a window and trying to stick to the panes of glass with its claws. Charles Baudelaire on love
Those men get along best with women who can get along best without them. Charles Baudelaire on men
The unique and supreme voluptuousness of love lies in the certainty of committing evil. And men and women know from birth that in evil is found all sensual delight. Charles Baudelaire on men
I love Wagner, but the music I prefer is that of a cat hung up by its tail outside a window and trying to stick to the panes of glass with its claws. Charles Baudelaire on music
The dance can reveal everything mysterious that is hidden in music, and it has the additional merit of being human and palpable. Dancing is poetry with arms and legs. Charles Baudelaire on music
Nature... is nothing but the inner voice of self-interest. Charles Baudelaire on nature
Who would dare assign to art the sterile function of imitating nature? Charles Baudelaire on nature
Nature is a temple in which living columns sometimes emit confused words. Man approaches it through forests of symbols, which observe him with familiar glances. Charles Baudelaire on nature
I consider it useless and tedious to represent what exists, because nothing that exists satisfies me. Nature is ugly, and I prefer the monsters of my fancy to what is positively trivial. Charles Baudelaire on nature
Any healthy man can go without food for two days - but not without poetry. Charles Baudelaire on poetry
It is time to get drunk! So as not to be the martyred slaves of Time, get drunk get drunk without stopping! On wine, on poetry, or on virtue, as you wish. Charles Baudelaire on poetry
It is the hour to be drunken! to escape being the martyred slaves of time, be ceaselessly drunk. On wine, on poetry, or on virtue, as you wish. Charles Baudelaire on poetry