“He who desires nothing, hopes for nothing, and is afraid of nothing, cannot be an artist.”

To judge between good or bad, between successful and unsuccessful would take the eye of a God.

Love, respect, and friendship do unite a people as well as a common hatred does.

Each of us is full of too many wheels, screws and valves to permit us to judge one another on a first impression or by two or three external signs.

The world is, of course, nothing but our conception of it.

Money, like vodka, turns a person into an eccentric.

It’s easier to ask for money from the poor than from the wealthy.

We learn about life not from plusses alone, but from minuses as well.

The more cultured a man, the less fortunate he is.

Without a knowledge of languages you feel as if you don’t have a passport.

I observed that after marriage people cease to be curious.

Brevity – the sister of talent.

Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.

Faith is an aptitude of the spirit. It is, in fact, a talent: you must be born with it.

They say philosophers and wise men are indifferent. Wrong. Indifference is a paralysis of the soul, a premature death.

For God’s sake, have some self-respect and do not run off at the mouth if your brain is out to lunch.

The unhappy are egotistical, base, unjust, cruel, and even less capable of understanding one another than are idiots. Unhappiness does not unite people, but separates them.