There are true unseen forces, but not nearly so many as we believe, nor would they rule us so sternly if we did not admit them to our souls. We would not be assailed half so often by devils, had we not taken the trouble to invent so many of them.

Living, we fret. Dying, we live. I’ll keep that in mind. I’ll be of good cheer.

One defining symptom of decadence is a fondness for vast and nonsensical extravagance.

Men of great spirit are at high risk at a time when small souls rule the world.

To devote oneself to vigilance when the enemy is an imaginary one is idle, and to congratulate oneself for looking long and well for a foe that is not coming is foolish and sinful. My life has been a waste.

Thus does the unyielding, inescapable future ineluctably devour the present.

Unacceptable, maybe. But not unthinkable. Nothing's unthinkable once somebody's thought it.