The least stupid question a man asks in his lifetime is not: Is there a God and is He a god or a devil? But: Brother, why are you killing me?

... I used words without precautions. I wanted to disappear into them, I fled into the bovaryism of the writer trying to create an effect.

A politician is forced to make a habit of noble phrases and optimistic lies. In the end they infect himself.

Surprise will be my last emotion, not fear.

invaders always destroy libraries.

I am never happier than when I am alone in a foreign city; it is as if I had become invisible.

a writer's first duty is to be clear. Clarity is an excellent virtue. Like all virtues it can be pursued at ruinous cost. Paid, so far as I am concerned, joyfully.