Art is not merely an imitation of the reality of nature, but in truth a metaphysical supplement to the reality of nature, placed alongside thereof for its conquest.

Extreme positions are not succeeded by moderate ones but by extreme positions of the opposite kind.

To discover he is loved in return ought really to disenchant the lover with the beloved.

You cannot learn to fly by flying. First you must learn to walk, to run, to climb, to dance.

In every age the wisest have passed the identical judgment on life: it is worthless.

All in all, punishment hardens and renders people more insensible; it concentrates; it increases the feeling of estrangement; it strengthens the power of resistance.

In being wildly natural we recover best from being unnatural, from being spiritual.