The thirst for powerful sensations takes the upper hand both over fear and over compassion for the grief of others.

If you look at anything long enough, say just that wall in front of you - it will come out of that wall.

When you want to touch the reader's heart, try to be colder. It gives their grief as it were, a background, against which it stands out in greater relief.

Love is a great thing. It is not by chance that in all times and practically among all cultured peoples love in the general senseand the love of a man for his wife are both called love. If love is often cruel or destructive, the reasons lie not in love itself, but in the inequality between people.

Common hypocrites pass themselves off as doves; political and literary hypocrites pose as eagles. But don't be fooled by their eagle-like appearance. These are not eagles, but rats or dogs.

Just as I shall lie alone in the grave, so, in essence, do I live alone.

Once a man gets a fixed idea, there's nothing to be done.