To one who is accustomed to thinking a lot, every new thought that he hears or reads about immediately appears as a link in a chain.

Curiosity creeps into the houses of the unfortunate and the needy under the name of duty or of pity.

Robinson had a servant even better than Friday: His name was Crusoe.

When, however, you have an enemy, then do not requite him good for evil: for that would shame him. Instead, prove that he did some good for you. And rather be angry than put to shame! And when you are cursed, I do not like it that you want to bless. Rather curse a little also! And if you are done a great injustice, then quickly add five small ones. Hideous to behold is he who is obsessed with an injustice.

Freedom of opinion is like health; both are individual, and no good general conception can be set up of either of them.

The disappointed one speaks. I searched for great human beings; I always found only the apes of their ideals.

We operate with nothing but things which do not exist, with lines, planes, bodies, atoms, divisible time, divisible space - how should explanation even be possible when we first make everything into an image, into our own image!