The fewer limitations the artist imposes on his work, the less chance he has for artistic success.

Economic growth is not only unncessary, but ruinous.

Without any censorship, in the West fashionable trends of thought and ideas are carefully separated from those which are not fashionable; nothing is forbidden, but what is not fashionable will hardly ever find its way into periodicals or books or be heard in colleges. Legally your researchers are free, but they are conditioned by the fashion of the day.

Own only what you can always carry with you: know languages, know countries, know people. Let your memory be your travel bag.

When things are too clear, they are no longer interesting.

The strength or weakness of a society depends more on the level of its spiritual life than on its level of industrialization. Neither a market economy nor even general abundance constitutes the crowning achievement of human life. If a nation's spiritual energies have been exhausted, it will not be saved from collapse by the most perfect government structure or by any industrial development. A tree with a rotten core cannot stand.

Our envy of others devours us most of all.