Thus, the task is not so much to see what no one yet has seen, but to think what nobody yet has thought about that which everybody sees.

He who writes carelessly confesses thereby at the very outset that he does not attach much importance to his own thoughts.

That human life must be some kind of mistake is sufficiently proved by the simple observation that man is a compound of needs which are hard to satisfy; that their satisfaction achieves nothing but a painless condition in which he is only given over to boredom . . .

A man's delight in looking forward to and hoping for some particular satisfaction is a part of the pleasure flowing out of it, enjoyed in advance. But this is afterward deducted, for the more we look forward to anything the less we enjoy it when it comes.

Knowledge is to certain extent a second existence.

Pleasure is never as pleasant as we expected it to be and pain is always more painful. The pain in the world always outweighs the pleasure. If you don't believe it, compare the respective feelings of two animals, one of which is eating the other.

Every nation criticizes every other one - and they are all correct.