If, after all, men cannot always make history have a meaning, they can always act so that their own lives have one.

Greatness consists in trying to be great. There is no other way.

Thinking of the future, establishing aims for oneself, having preferences-all this presupposes a belief in freedom, even if one occasionally ascertains that one doesn't feel it.

Whoever today speaks of human existence in terms of power, efficiency, and historical tasks is an actual or potential assassin.

…there's no question of heroism in all this. It's a matter of common decency. That's an idea which may make some people smile, but the only means of fighting a plague is - common decency.

It is better to burn than to disappear.

Rule: Start by looking for what is valid in every man.