About no subject is there less philosophizing than about philosophy.

Irony is a clear consciousness of an eternal agility, of the infinitely abundant chaos.

Versatility of education can be found in our best poetry, but the depth of mankind should be found in the philosopher.

Aphorisms are the true form of the universal philosophy.

Nothing truly convincing - which would possess thoroughness, vigor, and skill - has been written against the ancients as yet; especially not against their poetry.

Strictly speaking, the idea of a scientific poem is probably as nonsensical as that of a poetic science.

Novels are the Socratic dialogues of our time. Practical wisdom fled from school wisdom into this liberal form.

Wit as an instrument of revenge is as infamous as art is as a means of sensual titillation.

The main thing is to know something and to say it.

When reason and unreason come into contact, an electrical shock occurs. This is called polemics.

A priest is he who lives solely in the realm of the invisible, for whom all that is visible has only the truth of an allegory.

That's so cute! They have birdbaths in the church!

A flower blooming in the desert proves to the world that adversity, no matter how great, can be overcome.

If I read enough about one country I sometimes found that the intensity of the reading removed by desire to travel there.

For a chance with you, I can wait.

If you want to kill serious crime, you have to kill serious criminals!

True wisdom is free of the dramas of culture or religion and should bring us only a sense of peace and happiness.

Muddy water, let stand, becomes clear.

Simply because my people are hungry, that is no justification to give them poison, to give them genetically modified food that is intrinsically dangerous to their health.

Fundamentally, Buddhism is for the awakenment and benefit of beings. So, you can't say, "Oh, you can't have it because you're not ready for it." That goes against the fundamental principle.