There's only a step from the sublime to the ridiculous, but there's no road leading from the ridiculous to the sublime.

I have always made an effort to render every detail of my reality with the greatest accuracy; but I have never paid attention to whether my presentation of historical facts was an exact one.

An action doesn't have to be wrong just because it is not logical. It doesn't have to be right just because it has its logic.

It is only the strong who are strengthened by suffering; the weak are made weaker.

An author who sets about to depict events of the past that have run their course is suspected of wishing to avoid the problems of the present day, of being, in other words, a reactionary.

Like the philosopher, the author views his task as one of establishing a clear connection between life and history, and of making the past bear fruit for the present and future.

There's only a step from the sublime to the ridiculous, but there's no road leading from the ridiculous to the sublime.