There ought to be a man with a hammer behind the door of every happy man.

The unhappy are egoistic, spiteful, unjust, cruel, and less capable of understanding each other than fools. Unhappiness does not bring people together but draws them apart, and even where one would fancy people should be united by the similarity of their sorrow, far more injustice and cruelty is generated than in comparatively placid surroundings.

If an intelligent, educated, and healthy man begins to complain of his lot and go down-hill, there is nothing for him to do but to go on down until he reaches the bottom--there is no hope for him. Where could my salvation come from? How can I save myself? I cannot drink, because it makes my head ache. I never could write bad poetry. I cannot pray for strength and see anything lofty in the languor of my soul. Laziness is laziness and weakness weakness. I can find no other names for them. I am lost, I am lost; there is no doubt of that.

Life is given only once, and one wants to live it boldly, with full conscious and beauty.

I have the feeling that I've seen everything, but failed to notice the elephants.

In my head there is a whole army of people asking to be let out and waiting for the word of command.

Never bring a cannon on stage in Act I unless you intend to fire it by the last act.