“Many of us pursue pleasure with such breathless haste that we hurry past it.”

Once you are born in this world you’re old enough to die.

The present state of the world and the whole of life is diseased. If I were a doctor and were asked for my advice, I should reply, ‘Create silence’.

Listen to the cry of a woman in labor at the hour of giving birth — look at the dying man’s struggle at his last extremity, and then tell me whether something that begins and ends thus could be intended for enjoyment.

Don’t forget to love yourself.

It is the duty of the human understanding to understand that there are things which it cannot understand.

The self-assured believer is a greater sinner in the eyes of God than the troubled disbeliever.

My sorrow is my castle.

The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays.

It is very important in life to know when your cue comes.

Face the facts of being what you are, for that is what changes what you are.

People understand me so poorly that they don’t even understand my complaint about them not understanding me.

It is impossible to exist without passion.

The task must be made difficult, for only the difficult inspires the noble-hearted.

It is so hard to believe because it is so hard to obey.

Boredom is the root of all evil.

Take away paradox from the thinker and you have a professor.

A lie cannot live.

Take care to sell your horse before he dies. The art of life is passing losses on.

Take care to sell your horse before he dies. The art of life is passing losses on.

Darkness within darkness. The gateway to all understanding.

For every laugh, there should be a tear.

I want freedom for the full expression of my personality.

Those who are hardest to love need it the most.

You act like mortals in all that you fear, and like immortals in all that you desire.