Novels are the Socratic dialogues of our time. Practical wisdom fled from school wisdom into this liberal form.

Those works whose ideal has not as much living reality and, as it were, personality as the beloved one or a friend had better remain unwritten. They would at least never become works of art.

Every good man progressively becomes God. To become God, to be man, and to educate oneself, are expressions that are synonymous.

What do the few existing mystics still do? -- They more or less mold the raw chaos of already existing religion. But only in an isolated, insignificant manner, through feeble attempts. Do it in a grand manner from all aspects with unified efforts, and let us awaken all religions from their graves, newly revivify and form the immortal ones through the omnipotence of art and science.

When reason and unreason come into contact, an electrical shock occurs. This is called polemics.

Life is writing. The sole purpose of mankind is to engrave the thoughts of divinity onto the tablets of nature.

The life of the artist should be distinguished from that of all other people, even in external habits. They are Brahmins, a higher caste, not ennobled by birth, however, but through deliberate self-initiation.