Men are by nature merely indifferent to one another; but women are by nature enemies.

All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.

It is difficult to find happiness within oneself, but it is impossible to find it anywhere else.

The majority of men... are not capable of thinking, but only of believing, and... are not accessible to reason, but only to authority.

Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see.

A man can be himself only so long as he is alone; and if he does not love solitude, he will not love freedom; for it is only when he is alone that he is really free.

Man is the only animal who causes pain to others with no other object than wanting to do so.

Genius and madness have something in common: both live in a world that is different from that which exists for everyone else.

A pessimist is an optimist in full possession of the facts.

Religions are like fireflies. They require darkness in order to shine.

Nature shows that with the growth of intelligence comes increased capacity for pain, and it is only with the highest degree of intelligence that suffering reaches its supreme point.

You have a great talent and a great role in the world.

The spark of wondering is the start of writing.

Asking for blessings, receiving blessings, becoming a blessing, becoming a source of blessings

I'm actually a very private person. Sometimes I'm in denial that I'm really famous.

I paraphrase Lord Rothschild: ‘The time to buy is when there's blood on the streets.'

A Complicated Kindness is just that: funny and strange, spellbinding and heartbreaking, this novel is a complicated kindness from a terrifically talented writer.

If someone calls me vain and mean, I know that he trusts me and has something to confess to me.

The kinder and the more thoughtful a person is, the more kindness he can find in other people.

Being nominated is the win. For me, being nominated is winning. It's just unbelievable.

There is nothing that Nature seems to have inclined us to as much as society.