A writer must refuse to allow himself to be transformed into an institution, even if it takes place in the most honorable form.

There is no human nature, since there is no god to conceive it.

That God does not exist, I cannot deny, That my whole being cries out for God I cannot forget.

Generosity is nothing else than a craze to possess. All which I abandon, all which I give, I enjoy in a higher manner through the fact that I give it away. To give is to enjoy possessively the object which one gives.

You see, I'm fond of teasing, it's a second nature with me—and I'm used to teasing myself. Plaguing myself, if you prefer; I don't tease nicely.

Life has no meaning the moment you lose the illusion of being eternal.

Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does.