Empirical sciences prosecuted purely for their own sake, and without philosophic tendency are like a face without eyes.

It is only when a man is alone that he is really free.

Pride works _from within_; it is the direct appreciation of oneself. Vanity is the desire to arrive at this appreciation indirectly, from without.

Life is a business that does not cover the costs.

The man who goes up in a balloon does not feel as if he were ascending; he only sees the earth sinking deeper below him.

Hence, in all countries the chief occupation of society is card-playing, and it is the gauge of its value, and an outward sign that it is bankrupt in thought. Because people have no thoughts to deal in, they deal cards, and try and win one another’s money. Idiots!

First the truth is ridiculed. Then it meets outrage. Then it is said to have been obvious all along.