The most common lie is that which one lies to himself; lying to others is relatively an exception.

Happiness is the feeling that power increases - that resistance is being overcome.

It takes just such painful and terrible things to occur for the great emancipation to take place.

So long as the spectator has to figure out the meaning of this or that person, or the presuppositions of this or that conflict of inclinations and purposes, he cannot become completely absorbed in the activities and sufferings of the chief characters or feel breathless pity and fear.

Foolish is my happiness, and foolish things will it speak: it is still too young—so have patience with it!

Morality is neither rational nor absolute nor natural. World has known many moral systems, each of which advances claims universality; all moral systems are therefore particular, serving a specific purpose for their propagators or creators, and enforcing a certain regime that disciplines human beings for social life by narrowing our perspectives and limiting our horizons.

Man's task is simple. He should cease letting his existence be a thoughtless accident.