Criticism is a misconception: we must read not to understand others but to understand ourselves.
To act is to anchor in the imminent future.
A civilization begins to decline the moment Life becomes its sole obsession.
Melancholy: an appetite no misery satisfies.
Negation is the mind's first freedom, yet a negative habit is fruitful only so long as we exert ourselves to overcome it, adapt it to our needs; once acquired it can imprison us.
I have no nationality - the best possible status for an intellectual.