An aphorism ought to be entirely isolated from the surrounding world like a little work of art and complete in itself like a hedgehog.

When ideas become gods, consciousness of harmony becomes devotion, humility, and hope.

It is peculiar to mankind to transcend mankind.

Whoever does not philosophize for the sake of philosophy, but rather uses philosophy as a means, is a sophist.

Prudishness is pretense of innocence without innocence. Women have to remain prudish as long as men are sentimental, dense, and evil enough to demand of them eternal innocence and lack of education. For innocence is the only thing which can ennoble lack of education.

The whole history of modern poetry is a continuous commentary on the short text of philosophy: every art should become science, and every science should become art; poetry and philosophy should be united.

Just as the Romans were the only nation that was truly a nation, so our age is the first genuine age.