To perceive the aura of an object we look at means to invest it with the ability to look at us in return.

He who observes etiquette but objects to lying is like someone who dresses fashionably but wears no vest.

Every monument of civilization is a monument of barbarism

In other words, the unique value of the "authentic" work of art has its basis in ritual, the location of its original use value. This ritualistic basis, however remote, is still recognizable as secularized ritual even in the most profane forms of the cult of beauty.

To be happy is to be able to become aware of oneself without fright.

True translation is transparent: it does not obscure the original, does not stand in its light, but rather allows pure language, as if strengthened by its own medium, to shine even more fully on the original.

Never stop writing because you have run out of ideas.