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

Allegories are, in the realm of thought, what ruins are in the realm of things.

The art of storytelling is reaching its end because the epic side of truth, wisdom, is dying out.

You could tell a lot about a man by the books he keeps - his tastes, his interest, his habits.

In the convulsions of the commodity economy, we begin to recognize the monuments of the bourgeoisie as ruins even before they have crumbled.

Any translation which intends to perform a transmitting function cannot transmit anything but information-hence, something inessential. This is the hallmark of bad translations.

Art teaches us to see into things. Folk art and kitsch allow us to see outward from within things.