Self-contempt, however vague, sharpens our eyes for the imperfections of others. We usually strive to reveal in others the blemishes we hide in ourselves.

Facts are counterrevolutionary.

The real Antichrist is he who turns the wine of an original idea into the water of mediocrity.

There is probably an element of malice in our readiness to overestimate people - we are, as it were, laying up for ourselves the pleasure of later cutting them down to size.

There are no chaste minds. Minds copulate wherever they meet.

To be fully alive is to feel that everything is possible.

The beginning of thought is in disagreement - not only with others but also with ourselves.