And here, poor fool, with all my lore I stand no wiser than before.

What is hardest of all? That which seems most simple: to see with your eyes what is before your eyes.

So long as you live and work, you will be misunderstood; to that you must resign yourself once and for all. Be silent!

Difficulties increase the nearer we get to the goal.

Prudent and active men, who know their strength and use it with limit and circumspection, alone go far in the affairs of the world.

Here too it’s masquerade, I find: As everywhere, the dance of mind. I grasped a lovely masked procession, And caught things from a horror show… I’d gladly settle for a false impression, If it would last a little longer, though.

The public wishes itself to be managed like a woman; one must say nothing to it except what it likes to hear.