# Émile Zola's most famous quotes

"Truth is on the march and nothing will stop it", a work of art as "a corner of creation seen through a temperament" and science that never promised happiness: Émile Zola's most quoted lines, from My Hatreds and "J'accuse…!" to the Rougon-Macquart novels, with their source.

- 15 votes · 14 items
- Jan 25, 2021 · Romain Joly
- https://even.best/en/l/5162/emile-zola-s-most-famous-quotes

## Top 14

1. **My ideal would be to work in peace, always have bread to eat and a clean little hole to sleep in.** (1 · ▲2 ▼1) — The Drinking Den (1877).
2. **Truth is on the march and nothing will stop it.** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — "J'accuse…!", L'Aurore (1898).
3. **A work of art is a corner of creation seen through a temperament.** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — My Hatreds (1866).
4. **The science of beauty is a joke invented by philosophers for the greater amusement of artists.** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — My Hatreds (1866).
5. **We only truly love the women we have not had.** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Pot Luck (1882).
6. **Wild beasts remain wild beasts; invent better machines all you like, there will still be wild beasts underneath.** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — The Beast Within (1890).
7. **Has science promised happiness? I do not think so. It has promised truth.** (0 · ▲1 ▼1) — Speech to students (1893).
8. **I care only for life, struggle, fever.** (0 · ▲1 ▼1) — My Hatreds (1866).
9. **Truth and justice are sovereign, for they alone ensure the greatness of nations.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Truth on the March (1901).
10. **Every time science takes a step forward, it is because some fool pushed it without meaning to.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The Joy of Life (1884).
11. **Religion tolerated many weaknesses, as long as appearances were kept up.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Nana (1880).
12. **Discipline means obedience.** (-1 · ▲0 ▼1) — "J'accuse…!", L'Aurore (1898).
13. **No happiness is possible in ignorance; certainty alone makes life calm.** (-1 · ▲0 ▼1) — Doctor Pascal (1893).
14. **A man's sobs have a heartbreaking dryness.** (-1 · ▲0 ▼1) — The Fortune of the Rougons (1871).

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.