Can a man possessing conciousness ever really respect himself?

But yet I am firmly persuaded that a great deal of consciousness, every sort of consciousness, in fact, is a disease.

Beyond the grave they will find nothing but death. But we shall keep the secret, and for their happiness we shall allure them with the reward of heaven and eternity.

There are chance meetings with strangers that interest us from the first moment, before a word is spoken.

Much unhappiness has come into the world because of bewilderment and things left unsaid.

And in fact you're not like everyone else: you weren't ashamed just now to confess bad and even ridiculous things about yourself. Who would confess such things nowadays? No one, and people have even stopped feeling any need for self-judgment.

Let it not be a beautiful face,' I thought, 'but to make up for that, let it be a noble, an expressive, and, above all, an extremely intelligent one.