Men are convinced of your arguments, your sincerity, and the seriousness of your efforts only by your death.

In order to be created, a work of art must first make use of the dark forces of the soul

Between history and the eternal I have chosen history because I like certainties. Of it, at least, I am certain, and how can I deny this force crushing me.

There is no more futile punishment than futile and hopeless labor.

The mind's deepest desire, even in its most elaborate operations, parallels man's unconscious feeling in the face of his universe: it is an insistence upon familiarity, an appetite for clarity.

The temptation shared by all forms of intelligence: cynicism.

My great idea is that we must forgive the Pope. First of all, he needs it more than anyone else. Besides, it is the only way of placing oneself above him.