“No duty, however, binds us to these so-called laws, whose corrupting influence menaces what is noblest in our being.”

Art for art’s sake, with no purpose, for any purpose perverts art. But art achieves a purpose which is not its own. (1804)

The great question in life is the suffering we cause, and the most ingenious metaphysics do not justify the man who has broken the heart that loved him.

There are things one does not say for a long time, but, once they are said, one never stops repeating them.

There is a bizarre notion according to which it is claimed that because men are corrupt, it is necessary to give certain of them all the more power… on the contrary, they must be given less power.

Every time government attempts to handle our affairs, it costs more and the results are worse than if we had handled them ourselves.

Nearly always, so as to live at peace with ourselves, we disguise our own impotence and weakness as calculation and policy; it is our way of placating that half of our being which is in a sense a spectator of the other.

Great compassion penetrates into the marrow of the bone. It is the support of all living beings.

Other times when I hear the wind blow I feel that just hearing the wind blow makes it worth being born.

I’m not one for being too profound, but I will say this. If you wanna have a good time.

Sometimes as human beings, we’re so contradictory – we may say something or do something and completely contradict ourselves.

By doing this I sense instantly when something isn’t right. Watching something does not mean fixing your gaze on it, but being aware of it in a natural way.

Although human beings are incapable of talking about themselves with total honesty, it is much harder to avoid the truth while pretending to be other people.

Human beings share the same common problems. A film can only be understood if it depicts these properly.

I think my being such a nomad let me into acting. I was always having to create a new image whenever we moved.