When one rows it is not the rowing which moves the ship: rowing is only a magical ceremony by means of which one compels a demon to move the ship.

No power can be maintained when it is only represented by hypocrites.

It is not things, but opinions about things that have absolutely no existence, which have so deranged mankind!

Speaking of Georges Bizet: His music has the tang of sunny climates, their bracing air, their clearness. It voices a sensibility hitherto unknown to us.

He who attains his ideal, precisely thereby surpasses it.

If an architect wants to strengthen a decrepit arch, he increases the load laid upon it, for thereby the parts are joined more firmly together.

Character is determined more by the lack of certain experiences than by those one has had.