Having become conscious of the truth he once perceived, man now sees only the awfulness or the absurdity of existence, he now understands the symbolic element in Ophelia's fate, he now recognizes the wisdom of the woodland god, Silenus: it nauseates him.

Of what is great one must either be silent or speak with greatness. With greatness--that means cynically and with innocence.

Mathematics would certainly have not come into existence if one had known from the beginning that there was in nature no exactly straight line, no actual circle, no absolute magnitude.

It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages.

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.

Words are but symbols for the relations of things to one another and to us; nowhere do they touch upon absolute truth.

I climb upon the highest mountains, laughing at all tragedies - whether real or imaginary.