The temerity to believe in nothing.

a person who gets angry at his own illness is sure to overcome it

There's only one way for an individual to remain upright, not to fall to pieces, not to sink into the mire of self-oblivionorself-contempt. That's calmly to turn away from everything, to say, "Enough!" and, folding one's useless arms across one's empty breast, to retain the ultimate, the sole attainable virtue, the virtue of recognizing one's own insignificance.

It's all romanticism, nonsense, rottenness, art.

Behind me there are already so many memories (...) Lots of memories, but no point in remembering them, and ahead of me a long, long road with nothing to aim for ... I just don't want to go along it.

Take what you can yourself, and don't let others get you into their hands; to belong to oneself, that is the whole thing in life.

In my case there was no first love. I began with the second.