The first progressive step for a mind overwhelmed by the strangeness of things is to realize that this feeling of strangeness is shared with all men and that human reality, in its entirety, suffers from the distance which separates it from the rest of the universe.

At the heart of all beauty lies something inhuman.

The reasoning is classic in its clarity. If God does not exist, Kirilov is god. If God does not exist, Kirilov must kill himself. Kirilov must therefore kill himself to become god. That logic is absurd, but it is what is needed.

All great deeds and all great thoughts have a ridiculous beginning.

I used to advertise my loyalty and I don't believe there is a single person I loved that I didn't eventually betray.

I feel more fellowship with the defeated than with saints.

And it was like knocking four quick times on the door of unhappiness.