Talent develops in quiet, alone; character is sharpened in the torrent of the world.

The absence of temptation is the absence of virtue.

This is the highest wisdom that I own; freedom and life are earned by those alone who conquer them each day anew.

Everyone holds his fortune in his own hands, like a sculptor the raw material he will fashion into a figure. But it's the same with that type of artistic activity as with all others: We are merely born with the capability to do it. The Skill to mold the material into what we want must be learned and attentively cultivated.

Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.

He who would reproach an author for obscurity should look into his own mind to see whether it is quite clear there. In the dusk the plainest writing is illegible.

He who does not expect a million readers should not write a line.