We live at a time when man believes himself fabulously capable of creation, but he does not know what to create.

Better beware of notions like genius and inspiration; they are a sort of magic wand and should be used sparingly by anybody who wants to see things clearly.

Civilization is nothing more than the effort to reduce the use of force to the last resort.

All life is the struggle, the effort to be itself.

The essence of man is, discontent, divine discontent; a sort of love without a beloved, the ache we feel in a member we no longer have.

The people with the clear heads are the ones who look life in the face, realize that everything in it is problematic, and feel themselves lost. And this is the simple truth: that to live is to feel oneself lost. Those who accept it have already begun to find themselves, to be on firm ground.

Man adapts himself to everything, to the best and the worst.