纪德的日记从一八八七年他十四岁写起，直到一九五○年他逝世前为止，在二十世纪所有的作家艺术家当中都堪称绝无仅有。从他的日记中可以清楚地看出他道德观的形成、他的海量的阅读，他的著作的起源和经历，他的同性恋癖好甚至他数次猎艳的详细经过，这些内容都是他最少雕饰的"自传"，使他成为一位真正的艺术家和思想家，成为另一位蒙田。(Gide's journal was written from the age of 14 in 1887 until his death in 1950, unique among all the writers and artists in the 20th century. The formation of his morality, massive reading, the origin and experience of his works, his homosexuality and details of his hunting for love can been clearly seen from his diary, which constitute his autobiography without any embellishment, making him a true artist and thinker like Montaigne.)