I think there is an enormous diference between speaking and writing. One rereads what one writes. But one might read it slowly or quickly. In other words, you do not know how long you will have to spend deliberating over a sentence. ... But if I listen to a tape recorder, the listening time is determined by the speed at which the tape turns and not by my own needs.

I will not be modest. Humble, as much as you like, but not modest. Modesty is the virtue of the lukewarm.

Something begins in order to end: an adventure doesn't let itself be extended it achieves significance only through its death.

What I see is teeming cohesion, contained dispersal... For him, to sculpt is to take the fat off space.

Better to have beasts that let themselves be killed than men who run away.

The recent experiences of pocketbooks prove this. I have changed my public since my works have been published in a smaller format.

But [your crime] will be there, one hundred times denied, always there, dragging itself behind you. Then you will finally know that you have committed your life with one throw of the die, once and for all, and there is nothing you can do but tug our crime along until your death. Such is the law, just and unjust, of repentance. Then we will see what will become of your young pride.