Neither man nor nation can exist without a sublime idea.

The best way to keep a prisoner from escaping is to make sure he never knows he's in prison.

Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep heart. The really great men must, I think, have great sadness on earth.

If you wish to glimpse inside a human soul and get to know a man ... just watch him laugh. If he laughs well, he's a good man.

Learning to love is hard and we pay dearly for it. It takes hard work and a long apprenticeship, for it is not just for a moment that we must learn to love, but forever.

People speak sometimes about the "bestial" cruelty of man, but that is terribly unjust and offensive to beasts, no animal could ever be so cruel as a man, so artfully, so artistically cruel.

It is better to be unhappy and know the worst, than to be happy in a fool's paradise.

Nothing is easier than to denounce the evildoer; nothing is more difficult than to understand him.

I think the devil doesn't exist, but man has created him, he has created him in his own image and likeness.

Don’t be overwise; fling yourself straight into life, without deliberation; don’t be afraid - the flood will bear you to the bank and set you safe on your feet again.

The most offensive is not their lying - one can always forgive lying - lying is a delightful thing, for it leads to truth - what is offensive is that they lie and worship their own lying.

There is a crack, a crack, in everything. That's how the light gets in.

Regarding marriage, it - somehow, it didn't happen. One fellow in such a big family not getting married is not an issue.

When we are no longer children, we are already dead.

I'm such a profound believer that timing is everything; I would tattoo that on my arm.

We can not guarantee success, we can strive to deserve it.

He that loseth his honesty hath nothing else to lose.

Through the ballot, we can defend our democracy from the threat of dictatorship.

No matter what is going on, everything is grace.

I've never done anything particularly scandalous.

As comedy presents the vital rhythm of self-preservation, tragedy exhibits that of self-consummation.