We are funny creatures. We don't see the stars as they are, so why do we love them? They are not small gold objects, but endless fire.

Strict seriousness was far more dangerous than any joke.

Nobody asks you to love the whole world, only to be honest, ehrlich. Don't have a loud mouth. The more you love people the more they'll mix you up. A child loves, a person respects. Respect is better than love.

There is an immense, painful longing for a broader, more flexible, fuller, more coherent, more comprehensive account of what we human beings are, who we are and what this life is for.

Alternatives, and particularly desirable alternatives, grow only on imaginary trees.

I feel that art has something to do with the achievement of stillness in the midst of chaos.

There is only one way to defeat the enemy, and that is to write as well as one can. The best argument is an undeniably good book.