On the stage on which we are observing it, — Universal History — Spirit displays itself in its most concrete reality.

The owl of Minerva spreads its wings only with the falling of the dusk.

The courage of the truth is the first condition of philosophic study.

Since philosophy is the exploration of the rational, it is for that very reason the apprehension of the present and the actual, not the erection of a beyond, supposed to exist, God knows where, or rather which exists, and we can perfectly well say where, namely in the error of a one-sided, empty, ratiocination.

The true courage of civilized nations is readiness for sacrifice in the service of the state, so that the individual counts as only one amongst many. The important thing here is not personal mettle but aligning oneself with the universal.

Destiny is consciousness of oneself, but consciousness of oneself as an enemy.

To be aware of limitations is already to be beyond them.