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 shame in preferring happiness.

I sometimes need to write things which I cannot completely control but which therefore prove that what is in me is stronger than I am.

I have always thought it would be easier to redeem a man steeped in vice and crime than a greedy, narrow-minded, pitiless merchant.

These are facts the heart can feel; yet they call for careful study before they become clear to the intellect.

I know myself too well to believe in pure virtue.

You cannot acquire experience by making experiments. You cannot create experience. You must undergo it.