But more wonderful than the lore of old men and the lore of books is the secret lore of ocean.

I am disillusioned enough to know that no man's opinion on any subject is worth a damn unless backed up with enough genuine information to make him really know what he's talking about.

The ignorant and the deluded are, I think, in a strange way to be envied. That which is not known of does not trouble us, while an imagined but insubstantial peril does not harm us. To know the truths behind reality is a far greater burden.

If I am mad, it is mercy! May the gods pity the man who in his callousness can remain sane to the hideous end!

Sometimes one feels that it would be merciful to tear down these houses, for they must often dream.

But are not the dreams of poets and the tales of travellers notoriously false?

Almost nobody dances sober, unless they happen to be insane.