Never have I thought that I was the happy possessor of a "talent;" my sole concern has been to save myself by work and faith.

As far as men go, it is not what they are that interests me, but what they can become.

Once we know and are aware, we are responsible for our action and our inaction. We can do something about it or ignore it. Either way, we are still responsible.

It's quite an undertaking to start loving somebody. You have to have energy, generosity, blindness. There is even a moment right at the start where you have to jump across an abyss: if you think about it you don't do it.

Everything has been figured out, except how to live.

One is still what one is going to cease to be and already what one is going to become. One lives one's death, one dies one's life.

At that time [1954], as a result of political events, I was deeply preoccupied by my relations with the Communist Party.