Jacques Yonnet Quotes

#1. An event is never just what it is in itself and nothing more. It's what goes on around it, at the same time, that makes it - potentially - a tragic situation.

You have to have been exposed to this, at least once, to understand it.

Jacques Yonnet

#2. Men are so isolated, prisoners of their own wretched selves, that they can be unbelievably sociable.

Jacques Yonnet

#3. In response to a tactless question he once said to me, 'What do you expect? This lousy neighbourhood gave me the come-on. I couldn't resist.

Jacques Yonnet

#4. It's a dreadful assertion to make that once the war is over, the lesson learned, the conclusion drawn lies anywhere but in the verdict 'slaughter'. The dead are very quickly forgotten. But it's extraordinary - and a good thing too - how we're bested by them in this respect.

Jacques Yonnet

#5. Silence, like madness, is only comparative.

Jacques Yonnet

#6. Here, in a few words, you've said all you need to say. People stand by each other, but they don't talk. It's remarkable. I've investigated the extraordinary history of these walls. I think I'm the only person who knows that it's the stones, the stones alone that set the tone here.

Jacques Yonnet

#7. The minutes seeped away like wine from a barrel.

Jacques Yonnet

#8. The rest of the gang aren't worth mentioning. But every one of them's got a story.

I catch myself writing 'not worth mentioning'. According to what criteria? No reason whatever to feel superior.

Jacques Yonnet

#9. Time works for those who place themselves beyond time.

Jacques Yonnet