He who does not become familiar with nature through love will never know her.

When the author has no idea of what to reply to a critic, he then likes to say: you could not do it better anyway. This is the same as if a dogmatic philosopher reproached a skeptic for not being able to devise a system.

Genius is, to be sure, not a matter of arbitrariness, but rather of freedom, just as wit, love, and faith, which once shall become arts and disciplines. We should demand genius from everybody, without, however, expecting it.

If you want to penetrate into the heart of physics, then let yourself be initiated into the mysteries of poetry.

Strictly speaking, the idea of a scientific poem is probably as nonsensical as that of a poetic science.

The obsession with moderation is the spirit of castrated narrow-mindedness.

Poetry and philosophy are, according to how you take them, different spheres, different forms, or factors of religion. Try to really combine both, and you will have nothing but religion.