A poet or philosopher should have no fault to find with his age if it only permits him to do his work undisturbed in his own corner; nor with his fate if the corner granted him allows of his following his vocation without having to think about other people.

The young should early be trained to bear being left alone; for it is a source of happiness and peace of mind.

The majority of men... are not capable of thinking, but only of believing, and... are not accessible to reason, but only to authority.

The life of every individual is really always a tragedy, but gone through in detail, it has the character of a comedy.

All wanting comes from need, therefore from lack, therefore from suffering.

No greater mistake can be made than to imagine that what has been written latest is always the more correct; that what is written later on is an improvement on what was written previously; and that every change means progress.

We may divide thinkers into those who think for themselves and those who think through others. The latter are the rule and the former the exception. The first are original thinkers in a double sense, and egotists in the noblest meaning of the word.