Paulo Coelho

"We love because Love sets us free, and we say things that we once never even had the courage to whisper to ourselves."

"No one can go back, but everyone can go forward. And tomorrow, when the sun rises, all you have to say to yourselves is: I am going to think of this day as the first day of my life."

"My smile is my way of saying: ‘You can destroy my body, but not my soul.’"

"For the first time, I will smile without feeling guilty, because joy is not a sin... For the first time, I will avoid anything that makes me suffer, because suffering is not a virtue."

"Love rules, but no one knows where it has its throne; in order to know that secret place, you must first submit to Love."

"And if I’m alone in bed, I will go over to window, look up at the sky and feel certain that loneliness is a lie, because the Universe is there to keep me company."

"Men and women whisper to each other because they have turned a sacred gesture into a sinful act. If two bodies merely join together, that is not sex, it is merely pleasure. Sex goes far beyond pleasure. In sex, relaxation and tension go hand in hand, as do pain and pleasure, shyness and the courage to go beyond one’s limits... It isn’t enough to imagine everything that might happen if we allowed ourselves to join not just our bodies, but our souls as well."

"Let us plunge together, then, down the dangerous path of surrender. It may be dangerous, but it is the only path worth following."

"Let us forget all that we are taught about how it is noble to give and humiliating to receive. Because for most people, generosity consists only in giving, but receiving is also an act of love. Allowing someone else to make us happy will make them happy too."

"We were born alone and we will die alone. But, while we are on this planet, we must accept and glorify our act of faith through other people."

"Elegance tends to be mistaken for superficiality and mere appearance. Nothing could be further from the truth: some words are elegant, others can wound and destroy, but all are written with the same letters. Flowers are elegant, even when hidden among the grasses in a meadow. The gazelle when it runs is elegant, even when it is fleeing from a lion. Elegance is not an outer quality, but a part of the soul that is visible to others... Elegance lies not in the clothes we wear, but in the way we wear them... It isn’t in the way we wield a sword, but in the dialogue we hold that could avoid a war. But every tribe, every people, has values that they associate with elegance: hospitality, respect, good manners."

"Arrogance attracts hatred and envy. Elegance arouses respect and Love. Arrogance causes us to humiliate our fellow man or woman. Elegance teaches us to walk in the light. Arrogance complicates words, because it believes that intelligence is only for the chosen few. Elegance transforms complex thoughts into something that everyone can understand."

"When we are walking our chosen path, we walk elegantly, emanating light."

"Oft wirst du dich wegen der Demütigungen schämen, die du vor deinen Gefährten, deiner Liebsten, deinen Eltern erlitten hast. Doch wenn du nicht aufgibst, wird sich das Rudel der Hyänen entfernen und sich andere für die Opferrolle suchen. Sie müssen diese Lektion selber lernen, denn niemand wird ihnen helfen können."

"Halte dich lieber an jene, die in glücklichen Stunden bei dir sind. Denn ihre Seelen kennen weder Eifersucht noch Neid, nur Freude darüber, dich glücklich zu sehen."

"In der Abgeschiedenheit werden sie lernen, dass Neinsagen nicht immer ein Mangel an Großzügigkeit und dass Jasagen nicht immer eine Tugend ist."

"Ich kann nicht verstehen, wie man Gott in einem Priesterseminar finden soll."