There is nothing that has caused me to meditate more on Plato's secrecy and sphinx-like nature, than the happily preserved petit fait that under the pillow of his death-bed there was found no 'Bible,' nor anything Egyptian, Pythagorean, or Platonic - but a book of Aristophanes. How could even Plato have endured life - a Greek life which he repudiated - without an Aristophanes!

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

What is great in man is that he is a bridge and not a goal: what there is to love in man is that he is a going-over and a going-under.

It is far pleasanter to injure and afterwards beg forgiveness than to be injured and grant forgiveness. He who does the former gives evidence of power and afterwards of kindness of character.

Let us not underestimate the privileges of the mediocre. As one climbs higher, life becomes ever harder, the coldness increases, responsibility increases.

Men after death ... are understood worse than men of the moment, but heard better.

When we talk in company we lose our unique tone of voice, and this leads us to make statements which in no way correspond to our real thoughts.