No matter what cause one defends, it will suffer permanent disgrace if one resorts to blind attacks on crowds of innocent people.

In order to understand the world, one has to turn away from it on occasion; in order to serve others better, one has to hold them at a distance for a time. But where can one find the solitude necessary to vigor, the deep breath in which the mind collects itself and courage gauges its strength? There remain big cities.

There was a time when I didn’t at any minute have the slightest idea how I could reach the next one. Yes, one can wage war in this world, ape love, torture one’s fellow man, or merely say evil of one’s neighbour while knitting. But, in certain cases, carrying on, merely continuing, is superhuman.

We are not certain, we are never certain.

Retaliation is related to nature and instinct, not to law. Law, by definition, cannot obey the same rules as nature.

Every act of rebellion expresses a nostalgia for innocence and an appeal to the essence of being.

You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.