Life is a business that does not cover the costs.

A high degree of intellect tends to make a man unsocial.

Every original idea is first ridiculed, then vigorously attacked, and finally taken for granted.

Were an Asiatic to ask me for a definition of Europe, I should be forced to answer him: It is that part of the world which is haunted by the incredible delusion that man was created out of nothing, and that his present birth is his first entrance into life.

What give all that is tragic, whatever its form, the characteristic of the sublime, is the first inkling of the knowledge that the world and life can give no satisfaction, and are not worth our investment in them. The tragic spirit consists in this. Accordingly it leads to resignation.

Noise is the most impertinent of all forms of interruption. It is not only an interruption, but also a disruption of thought.

When you look back on your life, it looks as though it were a plot, but when you are into it, it's a mess: just one surprise after another. Then, later, you see it was perfect.