Human beings are compelled to live within a lie, but they can be compelled to do so only because they are in fact capable of living in this way. Therefore not only does the system alienate humanity, but at the same time alienated humanity supports this system as its own involuntary master plan, as a degenerate image of its own degeneration, as a record of people's own failure as individuals.

The real test of a man is not when he plays the role that he wants for himself but when he plays the role destiny has for him.

The tragedy of modern man is not that he knows less and less about the meaning of his own life, but that it bothers him less and less.

All human suffering concerns each human being.

The cliché organizes life; it expropriates people's identity; it becomes ruler, defense lawyer, judge, and the law.

There are times when we must sink to the bottom of our misery to understand truth, just as we must descend to the bottom of a well to see the stars in broad daylight.

In any case, ideals are something we strive for; they are somewhere on the horizon of our efforts; they provide meaning and direction; they are not, however, static quotas that we either fulfill or do not.