Profound sadness is always the result of an unhealthy condition of the body. ... We [should] say, 'I am sad; everything looks black to me; but external events are in no way responsible. It's my body that insists on reasoning. These are the opinions of my stomach.'

We prove what we want to prove, and the real difficulty is to know what we want to prove.

There is a future that makes itself and a future we make. The real future is composed of both.

It is not difficult to be unhappy or discontented; all you have to do is sit down, like a prince waiting to be amused. ... It is impossible to be happy if one does not have the desire to be happy; one must therefore will one's happiness, and create it.

Nothing is more dangerous than an idea when it is the only one you have.

I have only one thing to say to the melancholy man: 'Look into the distance.' ... When you look at the stars or the ocean's expanse, your eye is completely relaxed; once your eye is relaxed, your mind is unfettered.

Wouldn't a sailor laugh at you if you told him that the whole crossing depends on the first turn of the helm?