Quotes from Papillon

“We have too much technological
progress, life is too hectic, and our society has only one goal: to invent
still more technological marvels to make life even easier and better.
The craving for every new scientific discovery breeds a hunger for
greater comfort and the constant struggle to achieve it. All that kills the
soul, kills compassion, understanding, nobility. It leaves no time for
caring what happens to other people, least of all criminals. Even the
officials in Venezuela's remote areas are better for they're also
concerned with public peace. It gives them many headaches, but they
seem to believe that bringing about a man's salvation is worth the
effort. I find that magnificent.”
― Henri Charrière, quote from Papillon

“I’ve known this a long time, because when Napoleon III created the bagnes and was asked: “But who will guard these bandits?” he answered: “Worse bandits.”
― Henri Charrière, quote from Papillon

“We have too much technological progress, life is too hectic, and our society has only one goal: to invent still more technological marvels to make life even easier and better. The craving for every new scientific discovery breeds a hunger for greater comfort and the constant struggle to achieve it. All that kills the soul, kills compassion, understanding, nobility. It leaves no time for caring what happens to other people, least of all criminals.”
― Henri Charrière, quote from Papillon

“I must prove that I can be, that I am and will be, a normal person. Perhaps no better, but certainly no worse than the rest.”
― Henri Charrière, quote from Papillon

“It was worth having made this break for the people, the human beings it had brought me into contact with. Although it had failed, my escape had been a victory, merely by having enriched my heart with the friendship of these wonderful people. No, I was not sorry. I had done it.”
― Henri Charrière, quote from Papillon

“The important thing was that we were alive...”
― Henri Charrière, quote from Papillon

“This was 1941 and I'd been in prison eleven years. I was thirty-five. I'd spent the best years of my life either in a cell or in a black-hole. I'd only had seven months of total freedom with my Indian tribe. The children my Indian wives must have had by me would be eight years old now. How terrible! How quickly the time had flashed by! But a backward glance showed all these hours and minutes studding my calvary as terribly long, and each one of them hard to bear.”
― Henri Charrière, quote from Papillon

“Those who haven't been exposed to the hypocrisies of a civilized education react to things 'naturally', as they happen. It is in the here and now that they are either happy or unhappy, joyful or sad, interested or indifferent.”
― Henri Charrière, quote from Papillon

“Sleep in peace, you members of the jury who condemned me to this place; sleep in peace,”
― Henri Charrière, quote from Papillon

“You want me to be killed? Why are you taking away my knife? I guess you realize you’re sending me to my grave?”
― Henri Charrière, quote from Papillon

“He even whispered in my ear: “You suffer; you will suffer more. But this time I am on your side. You will be free. You will, I promise you.”
― Henri Charrière, quote from Papillon

“What should we do? I was beginning to understand a few words of Spanish: to escape, fugar; prisoner, preso; to kill, matar; chain, cadena; handcuffs, esposas; man, hombre; woman, mujer.”
― Henri Charrière, quote from Papillon

“I am not a good enough writer to convey the intense emotion I felt over my newfound self-respect. It was a rehabilitation, if not a new life. This imaginary baptism, the immersion in purity, the elevation of my being above the filth in which I'd been mired and, overnight, this sense of responsibility, made me into a different man. The convict's complexes that make him hear his chains and suspect he's being watched even after he's freed, everything I'd seen, gone through, suffered, everything that was making me tarnished, rotten and dangerous, passively obedient on the surface but terribly dangerous in rebellion, all that had disappeared as if by a miracle.”
― Henri Charrière, quote from Papillon

“evet, şu sıra yalnızlığa katlanabilmek, eskisinden de güç. . Öyle bir haldeyim ki, düşüncelerimle geçmişte ve günümüzde gezinmek için gözlerimi kapamam bile gerekmiyor.”
― Henri Charrière, quote from Papillon

“Mahkümluk serüvenimn son gecesinn siniriyle hamağımda dönüp duruyorm. Yerimden kalkıyor,son aylarda çok iyi baktığm bahçemde geziniyorum.Ay ışığı ortalığı gün gibi aydınlatıyor. Nehrin suyu, gürültü etmeden denize doğru akıyor. Kuş sesi duyulmuyor, hepsi uykuda. Gökyüzü yıldızlarla kaplı, ama ay öylesine parlak ki yıldızları görebilmek için ona sırt çevirmek gerek. Tam karşımda sık orman, tek açıklık..El Dorado köyünün yapıldığı yer. Doğanın bu derin sessizliği beni dinlendiriyor. İçimdeki telaş yavaş yavaş diniyor, bu anın durgunluğu…ihtiyaç duyduğum huzuru sağlıyor bana”
― Henri Charrière, quote from Papillon

“Една пеперуда влетя — бледосиня с тънка черна лента, а някъде близо до нея зад прозореца зажужа пчела. Какво ли правеха тези живинки тук? Дали ги беше объркало зимното слънце, или търсеха да се скрият в затвора от студ? Пеперудата зиме е случайно възкръснало същество. Как ли се е спасила от смъртта? А пчеличката защо ли е напуснала кошера си? Каква неосъзната храброст — да дойдат тук! Добре че отговорникът няма криле, защото иначе няма за дълго да ги остави живички.”
― Henri Charrière, quote from Papillon

“the butterflies that had just hatched hurried into the light to find love as”
― Henri Charrière, quote from Papillon

“...pergunto a mim próprio até que ponto o silêncio absoluto
e o completo isolamento infligidos a um jovem encerrado numa cela podem,
antes de o levarem à loucura, dar azo a uma verdadeira vida imaginativa.
Vida de tal modo intensa , de tal modo viva, que o indivíduo se desdobra literalmente.
Levanta voo e vai vagabundear por onde lhe apetece. (...), os castelos no ar que o seu
fecundo espírito inventa, que ele cria com uma imaginação tão incrivelmente fértil que, (...),
chega a pensar que está a viver tudo quanto vai sonhando.”
― Henri Charrière, quote from Papillon

About the author

Popular quotes

“And it was respect he needed, infinitely more than love. Just not to have to worry about whether people respect you. Not ever to have to feel that people are being nice to you because they are sorry for you, or afraid of you.”
― James Agee, quote from A Death in the Family

“Sometimes IVs and pills weren’t always the best course of treatment for the injured. Sometimes all you needed was the touch of the one you loved and the sound of their voice and the knowledge that you were home, and that was enough to drag you back from
the brink.”
― J.R. Ward, quote from Father Mine

“It must have been-hell!" Merivale said.

"Just so," bowed his Grace. "It was the very worst kind of hell, as I know."

"The wonder is that she has come through it unscathed."

The hazel eyes lifted.

"Not quite unscathed, my dear Anthony. Those years have left their mark."

"It were inevitable, I suppose. But I confess I have not seen the mark."

"Possibly not. You see the roguery, and the dauntless spirit."

"And you?" Merivale watched him curiously.

"Oh, I see beneath, my dear! But then, I have had experience of the sex, as you know."

"And you see-what?"

"A certain cynicism, born of the life she has led; a streak of strange wisdom; the wistfulness behind the gaiety; sometimes fear; and nearly always the memory of loneliness that hurts the soul.”
― Georgette Heyer, quote from These Old Shades

“The worse they are the more they see beauty in each other.”
― Alan Hollinghurst, quote from The Line of Beauty

“Oh. Yeah. That does make sense.” Shaylin hesitated. “But I don’t know which dorm room is hers.”
“Third floor, number thirty-six. When they shared a brain, they used to say it stood for their chest size. I
said it was their combined IQ.”
“Of course you did,” Shaylin said.
“See, you do understand me!” Aphrodite said with fake enthusiasm.”
― P.C. Cast, quote from Hidden

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About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.