Only from the perspective of such a utopia is it possible to use the concepts of pessimism and optimism with full justification: an optimist is someone who thinks that on planet number five the history of mankind will be less bloody. A pessimist is one who thinks otherwise.

Those who consider the Devil to be a partisan of Evil and angels to be warriors for Good accept the demagogy of the angels. Things are clearly more complicated.

All novels . . . are concerned with the enigma of the self. As soon as you create an imaginary being, a character, you are automatically confronted by the question: what is the self? How can it be grasped?

Love is a battle, and I plan to go on fighting. To the end.

Without realizing it, the individual composes his life according to the laws of beauty even in times of greatest distress.

Merely by being born intelligent, you right away find yourself in absolute exile.

Children are the future, because mankind is moving more and more towards infancy.