It is not conflict of opinions that has made history so violent but conflict of belief in opinions, that is to say conflict of convictions.

There are no facts, only interpretations.

No, life has not disappointed me. On the contrary, I find it truer, more desirable and mysterious every year -- ever since the day when the great liberator came to me: the idea that life could be an experiment of the seeker for knowledge -- and not a duty, not a calamity, not trickery.

Who is better, they who promote truth over happiness, or happiness over truth?

In a seriously intended intellectual emancipation a person's mute passions and cravings also hope to find their advantage.

All good things were formerly bad things; every original sin has turned into an original virtue.

The value of many men and books rests solely on their faculty for compelling all to seek out the most hidden and intimate things.