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

An individual piece only has meaning when it is seen as part of the whole.

The spirit is never at rest, but always engaged in progressive motion, giving itself new form.

When we walk the streets at night in safety, it does not strike us that this might be otherwise. This habit of feeling safe has become second nature, and we do not reflect on just how this is due solely to the working of special institutions. Commonplace thinking often has the impression that force holds the state together, but in fact its only bond is the fundamental sense of order which everybody possesses.

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.

Freedom is the fundamental character of the will, as weight is of matter... That which is free is the will. Will without freedom is an empty word.

Mark this well, you proud men of action! you are, after all, nothing but unconscious instruments of the men of thought.