People without firmness of character love to make up a fate for themselves; that relieves them of the necessity of having their own will and of taking responsibility for themselves.

Whatever a person may pray for, that person prays for a miracle. Every prayer comes down to this - Almighty God, grant that two times two not equal four.

A son is like a lopped off branch. As a falcon he comes when he wills and goes where he lists.

The fact is that previously they were simply dunces and now they've suddenly become nihilists.

Love, I thought, is stronger than death or the fear of death. Only by it, by love, life holds together and advances.

I only know that I feel tired, antiquated; I feel as though I had been living a long, long time.

Tempered, gradual animation, the methodical restrain of sensations and energies, the equilibrium of sickness and health in each creature--this is nature's essence, its immutable law, this is what it's based on and what it adheres to.