The doctor sees all the weakness of mankind; the lawyer all the wickedness, the theologian all the stupidity.

Students and scholars of all kinds and of every age aim, as a rule, only at information, not insight. They make it a point of honour to have information about everything, every stone, plant, battle, or experiment and about all books, collectively and individually. It never occurs to them that information is merely a means to insight, but in itself is of little or no value.

Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see.

Thus also every keen pleasure is an error and an illusion, for no attained wish can give lasting satisfaction.

Just as a stream flows smoothly on as long as it encounters no obstruction, so the nature of man and animal is such that we never really notice or become conscious of what is agreeable to our will; if we are to notice something, our will has to have been thwarted, has to have experienced a shock of some kind.

Obstinacy is the result of the will forcing itself into the place of the intellect.

At bottom, every state regards another as a gang of robbers who will fall upon it as soon as there is an opportunity.