Unfortunately, goodness and honor are rather the exception than the rule among exceptional men, not to speak of geniuses

Genius is one of the many forms of insanity.

Good sense travels on the well-worn paths; genius, never. And that is why the crowd, not altogether without reason, is so ready to treat great men as lunatics.

The ignorant man always adores what he cannot understand

It is a sad mission to cut through and destroy with the scissors of analysis the delicate and iridescent veils with which our proud mediocrity clothes itself.

Klopstock was questioned regarding the meaning of a passage in his poem. He replied, 'God and I both knew what it meant once; now God alone knows.'

God and I both knew what it meant once; now God alone knows.