There is only one good. And that is to act according to the dictates of one's conscience.

Youth and what the Italians so prettily call stamina. The vigor, the fire, that enables you to love and create. When you've lost that, you've lost everything.

That's what I consider true generosity. You give your all, and yet you always feel as if it costs you nothing.

If you live long enough, you'll see that every victory turns into a defeat.

The state of emotional intoxication allows one to grasp existence in one's self and in the other, as both subjectivity and passivity. The two partners merge in this ambiguous unity; each one is freed of his own presence and achieves immediate communication with the other.

You can't assume the responsibility for everything you do or don't do.

Writing is a trade ... which is learned by writing.