Our journey is entirely imaginary. That is its strength.

There is no rest for the humble except in despising the great, whose only thought of the people is inspired by self-interest or sadism.

The sadness of the world has different ways of getting to people, but it seems to succeed almost every time.

When it becomes really impossible to get away and sleep, then the will to live evaporates of its own accord.

The best way to make a sort of peace, a fragile armistice to be sure, but precious all the same, with men, officers or not, is to let them bask and wallow in childish self-glorification. There’s no such thing as intelligent vanity. It’s an instinct. And you’ll never find a man who is not first and formenost vain. The role of admiring doormat is about the only one that one man is glad to tolerate in another. With these soldiers I had no need to tax my imagination.

Living, just by itself - what a dirge that is! Life is a classroom and Boredom's the usher, there all the time to spy on you.

There's no such thing as intelligent vanity. It's an instinct. And you'll never find a man who is not first and foremost vain.