We publish only to satisfy out craving for fame; there's no other motive except the even baser one of making money.

On the other hand, whatever condition we are in, we must always do what we want to do ,and if we want to go on a journey, then we must do so and not worry about our condition, even if it's the worst possible condition, because, if it is, we're finished anyway, whether we go on the journey or not, and it's better to die having made the journey we've been longing for than to be stifled by our longing.

Nothing but disaster follows from applause.

The thinking man always finds himself in a gigantic orphanage in which people are continually proving to him that he has no parents.

In theory we understand people, but in practice we can't put up with them, I thought, deal with them for the most part reluctantly and always treat them from our point of view. We should observe and treat people not from our point of view but from all angles, I thought, associate with them in such a way that we can say we associate with them so to speak in a completely unbiased way, which however isn't possible, since we actually are always biased against everybody.

Women were like rivers, their banks were unreachable, the night often rang with the cries of the drowned.

What is ridiculous about human beings, Doctor,' the prince said, 'is actually their total incapacity to be ridiculous