I could have sworn that the man's eyes were no longer watching his daughter dying in agony, that instead the gorgeous colors of flames and the sight of a woman suffering in them were giving him joy beyond measure.

..he understood far more deeply than anyone else the loneliness that lurked beneath his jaunty mask.

It is unfortunate for the gods that, unlike us, they cannot commit suicide.

I have heard unsavory rumors about you and the umbrella-maker's daughter

I could wish for nothing more than to die for a childish dream in which I truly believed.

I don't have the strength to keep writing this. To go on living with this feeling is painful beyond description. Isn't there someone kind enough to strangle me in my sleep?

I may be a lunatic, but then, wasn't my lunacy caused by a monster that lurks at the bottom of every human mind? Those who call me a madman and spurn me may become lunatics tomorrow. They harbor the same monster.