The most exhausting effort in my life has been to suppress my own nature in order to make it serve my biggest plans.

But when a man has had only four hours' sleep he isn't sentimental. He sees things as they are: that is to say, he sees them in the garish light of justice; hideous, witless justice.

I realized people would soon forget me once I was dead. I couldn't even say that this was hard to stomach; really, there's no idea to which one doesn't get acclimatized in time.

There will be no lasting peace either in the heart of individuals or in social customs until death is outlawed.

Even when one sits in the prisoner's dock, it is interesting to hear talk about oneself.

A loveless world is a dead world.

The truth is that every intelligent man, as you know, dreams of being a gangster and of ruling over society by force alone. As it is not so easy as the detective novels might lead one to believe, one generally relies on politics and joins the cruelest party.What does it matter, after all, if by humiliating one's mind one succeeds in dominating every one? I discovered in myself sweet dreams of oppression.