The government is not God. It does not have the right to take away that which it can't return even if it wants to.

To dine, drink champagne, raise a racket and make speeches about the people's consciousness, the people's conscience, freedom andso forth while servants in tails are scurrying around your table, just like serfs, and out in the severe cold on the street await coachmen--this is the same as lying to the holy spirit.

My holy of holies is the human body.

Solomon made a big mistake when he asked for wisdom.

My own experience is that once a story has been written, one has to cross out the beginning and the end. It is there that we authors do most of our lying.

To judge between good or bad, between successful and unsuccessful would take the eye of a God.

Is it our job to judge? The gendarme, policemen and bureaucrats have been especially prepared by fate for that job. Our job is towrite, and only to write.