Impoliteness is frequently the sign of an awkward modesty that loses its head when surprised and hopes to conceal this with rudeness.

To be ashamed of one's immorality: that is a step on the staircase at whose end one is also ashamed of one's morality.

As is well known, the priests are the most evil enemies—but why? Because they are the most impotent. It is because of their impotence that in them hatred grows to monstrous and uncanny proportions, to the most spiritual and poisonous kind of hatred. The truly great haters in world history have always been priests; likewise the most ingenious haters: other kinds of spirit hardly come into consideration when compared with the spirit of priestly vengefulness.

In our own presence, we all pretend to be simpler than we are: thus we take a break from our fellow human beings.

That grand drama in a hundred acts, which is reserved for the next two centuries of Europe-the most terrible, most questionable and perhaps also the most hopeful of all dramas.

whatever is profound loves masks; what is most profound even hates image and parable.

Our shortcomings are the eyes with which we see the ideal.