Mothers easily become jealous of their sons' friends when they are particularly successful. As a rule a mother loves herself in her son more than she does the son himself.

Whether a man hides his bad qualities and vices or confesses them openly, his vanity wants to gain an advantage by it in both cases: just note how subtly he distinguishes between those he will hide his bad qualities from and those he will face honestly and candidly.

A very popular error: having the courage of one's convictions; rather it is a matter of having the courage for an attack on one's convictions.

Enduring habits I hate.... Yes, at the very bottom of my soul I feel grateful to all my misery and bouts of sickness and everything about me that is imperfect, because this sort of thing leaves me with a hundred backdoors through which I can escape from enduring habits.

Art depends upon the inexactitude of sight.

Mystical explanations are thought to be deep; the truth is that they are not even shallow.

The most unendurable thing, to be sure, the really terrible thing, would be a life without habits, a life which continually required improvisation.