I constantly saw the false and the bad, and finally the absurd and the senseless, standing in universal admiration and honour.

What a man can do and suffer is unknown to himself till some occasion presents itself which draws out the hidden power. Just as one sees not in the water of an unruffled pond the fury and roar with which it can dash down a steep rock without injury to itself, or how high it is capable of rising; or as little as one can suspect the latent heat in ice-cold water.

Sexual passion is the cause of war and the end of peace, the basis of what is serious... and consequently the concentration of all desire

Genius and madness have something in common: both live in a world that is different from that which exists for everyone else.

I love looking at famous people. Because of the way they look. Because of the way photography makes them look famous.

Men are by nature merely indifferent to one another; but women are by nature enemies.

Whoever wants his judgment to be believed, should express it coolly and dispassionately; for all vehemence springs from the will. And so the judgment might be attributed to the will and not to knowledge, which by its nature is cold.