It's always important to take time to study men — important men. Friends and enemies.

I held my breath, for to me there is nothing more awe-inspiring than when a man discovers to you the nakedness of his soul.

Ah, how cautiously a man should breathe
near those who see not only what we do,
but have the sense which reads the mind beneath

A man never discloses his character so clearly as when he descibes another's

The feeling of being watched is the next best thing to being touched. It's like sunlight on your skin, as though the person watching you is giving you some part of themselves by way of their eyes.

It is true that the genius of assembled men or of peoples is quite different from a man's character in private, and that one would know the human heart very imperfectly if he did not examine it also in the multitude. But it is no less true that one must begin by studying man in order to judge men, and that he who knew each individual's inclinations perfectly could foresee all their effects when combined in the body of the people.

Other men are lenses through which we read our own minds.

I think this is part of the female gaze…We are used to being watched, so why not watch ourselves, and why not enjoy it? Watching each other, excluding the visage of men—I can enjoy my sexuality.

Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature… what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action… if you know these things about a man you can touch him at the core of his being.

Examine a person closely enough and you know more about him than he does himself.

Before you examine the body of a patient, be patient to learn his story. For once you learn his story, you will also come to know his body.

It is more vital to study men than books

When we catch glimpses of other people’s humanity, we may be open to understanding why they act the way they do without needing to approve or disapprove of their behaviour.

Observers trying to decide what a man is like look closely at his actions.