When I was in the gulag I would sometimes even write on stone walls. I used to write on scraps of paper, then I memorised the contents and destroyed the scraps.

Just as King Midas turned everything to gold, Stalin turned everything to mediocrity.

...skepticism can never provide firm ground under a man's feet. And perhaps, after all, we need firm ground.

A state of war only serves as an excuse for domestic tyranny.

Power is a poison well known for thousands of years. If only no one were ever to acquire material power over others! But to the human being who has faith in some force that holds dominion over all of us, and who is therefore conscious of his own limitations, power is not necessarily fatal. For those, however, who are unaware of any higher sphere, it is a deadly poison. For them there is no antidote.

We do not err because truth is difficult to see. It is visible at a glance. We err because this is more comfortable.

The thoughts of a prisoner - they're not free either. They keep returning to the same things.