“A man is more a man through the things he keeps to himself than through those he says.”

Every act of rebellion expresses a nostalgia for innocence and an appeal to the essence of being.

The purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself.

We are all special cases.

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.

There are crimes of passion and crimes of logic. The boundary between them is not clearly defined.

It is a kind of spiritual snobbery that makes people think they can be happy without money.

Much unhappiness has come into the world because of bewilderment and things left unsaid.

Blessed are the hearts that can bend; they shall never be broken.

Do not wait for the last judgment. It comes every day.

I realized then that a man who had lived only one day could easily live for a hundred years in prison. He would have enough memories to keep him from being bored

We are all born mad, some remain so.

You are forgiven for your happiness and your successes only if you generously consent to share them.

I used to advertise my loyalty and I don’t believe there is a single person I loved that I didn’t eventually betray.

It is the job of thinking people not to be on the side of the executioners.

The absurd is the essential concept and the first truth.

The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.

Man, an animal that makes bargains.

Those born blind cannot see; similarly blind are those in the grip of lust. Proud men have no perception of evil; and those bent on acquiring riches see no sin in their actions.

All of us who are worth anything, spend our manhood in unlearning the follies, or expiating the mistakes of our youth.

He who has wealth has friends and relations; he alone survives and is respected as a man.

Do not put your trust in rivers, men who carry weapons, beasts with claws or horns, women, and members of a royal family.

Government is an evil; it is only the thoughtlessness and vices of men that make it a necessary evil. When all men are good and wise, government will of itself decay.

The man of virtuous soul commands not, nor obeys.

Life is best spent in alleviating pain, assuaging distress, and promoting peace and joy. The service of man is more valuable than what you call “service to God.” God has no need of your service. Pleas man, you please God.