One should adpot only those situations in which one is in no need of sham virtues, but rather, like the tight-rope dancer on his tight rope, in which one must either fall or stand--or escape.

Woman is essentially unpeaceful, like the cat, however well she may have trained herself to present an appearance of peace.

In a man devoted to knowledge, pity seems almost ridiculous, like delicate hands on a cyclops.

Epicurus had rage and envy of Plato's superior style.

Do not allow yourselves to be deceived: Great Minds are Skeptical.

The people we have employed in an undertaking that has turned out badly should be doubly rewarded.

The most spiritual men, as the strongest, find their happiness where others would find their destruction: in the labyrinth, in hardness against themselves and others, in experiments. Their joy is self-conquest: asceticism becomes in them nature, need, and instinct. Difficult tasks are a privilege to them; to play with burdens that crush others, a recreation. Knowledge-a form of asceticism. They are the most venerable kind of man: that does not preclude their being the most cheerful and the kindliest.