Drowning men, it is said, cling to wisps of straw.

Man is tormented by no greater anxiety than to find someone quickly to whom he can hand over that great gift of freedom with which the ill-fated creature is born.

That's always the way with fanatics; they cross themselves at the tavern and throw stones at the temple.

Beauty is mysterious as well as terrible. God and devil are fighting there, and the battlefield is the heart of man.

One must be a great man indeed to be able to hold out even against common sense." "Or else a fool.

It is necessary that every man have at least somewhere to go. For there are times when one absolutely must go at least somewhere!

Man, do not pride yourself on your superiority to the animals, for they are without sin, while you, with all your greatness, you defile the earth wherever you appear and leave an ignoble trail behind you -- and that is true, alas, for almost every one of us!