“The most radical division that it is possible to make of humanity is that which splits it into two classes of creatures: Those who make great demands on themselves, piling up difficulties and duties; and those who demand nothing special of themselves, but for whom to live is to be every moment what they already are, without imposing on themselves any effort towards perfection, mere buoys that float on the waves.”

““We see the world, not as it is, but as we are──or, as we are conditioned to see it.””

““The stronger your self-understanding is, the greater your probability of adapting to the people around you.””

“The nineteenth century, utilitarian throughout, set up a utilitarian interpretation of the phenomenon of life which has come down to us and may still be considered as the commonplace of everyday thinking. … An innate blindness seems to have closed the eyes of this epoch to all but those facts which show life as a phenomenon of utility”

“In the case of most pains let this remark of Epicurus aid thee, that the pain is neither intolerable nor everlasting, if thou bear in mind that it has its limits, and if thou addest nothing to it in imagination...”

“War being the greatest of evils, all its accessories necessarily partake of the same character.”

“Sex: a sweet poison only to the withered, but to the lion-willed the great cordial and the reverently reserved wine of wines.”

“I do think unpunctuality is a vile habit, and all my life I have tried to break myself of it.”

“Adorn thyself with simplicity and with indifference towards the things which lie between virtue and vice. Love mankind. Follow God. The poet says that Law rules all. And it is enough to remember that law rules all.”

“God is the middle term. Only by loving God above all else can one love the neighbor. Love for the neighbor is therefore the eternal equality in loving. Equality is simply not to make distinctions and eternal equality is unconditionally not to make the slightest distinction, unqualifiedly not to make the slightest distinction. The essential Christian is itself too weighty, in its movements too earnest to scurry about, dancing, in the frivolity of such facile talk about the higher, highest, and the supremely highest.”

“Language is originally and essentially nothing but a system of signs or symbols, which denote real occurrences, or their echo in the human soul.”

“A human being who strives for something great considers everyone he meets on his way either as a means or as a delay and obstacle--or as a temporary resting place.”

“Only the shallow know themselves.”

“Never hold discussions with the monkey when the organ grinder is in the room.”

“Let every emotion be capable becoming an intoxication to you. If what you eat fails to make you drunk, it is because you are not hungry enough.”

“ Food production, and competition and diffusion between societies, led as ultimate causes ... of conquest. ”

“When the head aches, all the members share the pain.”

“ "He who learns but does not think is lost! He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger."”

“People who are most afraid of their dreams convince themselves they don't dream at all.”

“What's the use you learning to do right, when it's troublesome to do right and ain't no trouble to do wrong, and the wages is just the same?”

“Private property ... has led Individualism entirely astray. It has made gain not growth its aim.”

“To know how to free oneself is nothing; the arduous thing is to know what to do with one's freedom.”

“To experience conflicts knowingly, though it may be distressing, can be an invaluable asset. The more we face our own conflicts and seek out our own solutions, the more inner freedom and strength we will gain. Only when we are willing to bear the brunt can we approximate the ideal of being the captain of our ship. Spurious tranquillity rooted in inner dullness is anything but enviable. It is bound to make us weak and an easy prey to any kind of influence.”

“I has no significance until it becomes the you to whom eternity incessantly speaks and says: you shall, you shall, you shall.”

“The most important thing in life is to stop saying 'I wish' and start saying 'I will.'”

““Ideologies are substitutes for true knowledge, and ideologues are always dangerous when they come to power, because a simple-minded I-know-it-all approach is no match for the complexity of existence.””

“For myself I am an optimist -- it does not seem to be much use being anything else.”

“If any man could arrive at the exterior limit, or take the wings of a bird and fly upward, like a fish who puts his head out and sees the world, he would see a world beyond; and, if the nature of man could sustain this sight, he would acknowledge that this was the place of the true heaven and the true light and the true stars. For this earth, and the stones, and the entire region which surrounds us, are spoilt and corroded...”

““People who are to be comfortable are accustomed to lie on sofas, and dine off tables, and they should have sauces and sweets in the modern style.””

“You want to have proven to you that the soul is imperishable and immortal, and you think that the philosopher who is confident in death has but a vain and foolish confidence, if he thinks that he will fare better than one who has led another sort of life, in the world below, unless he can prove this; and you say that the strength and divinity of the soul, and of her existence prior to our becoming men, does not necessarily imply her immortality. ...For any man, who is not devoid of natural feeling, has reason to fear, if he has no knowledge or proof of the soul's immortality. That is what I suppose you to say, Cebes, which I designedly repeat, in order that nothing may escape us...”