The essence of the modern state is the union of the universal with the full freedom of the particular, and with the welfare of individuals.

We learn from history that we do not learn from history

To be independent of public opinion is the first formal condition of achieving anything great.

Truth is found neither in the thesis nor the antithesis, but in an emergent synthesis which reconciles the two.

Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion.

Genuine tragedies in the world are not conflicts between right and wrong. They are conflicts between two rights.

What history teaches us is that neither nations nor governments ever learn anything from it.

I have the courage to be mistaken.

All education is the art of making men ethical (sittlich), of transforming the old Adam into the new Adam.

To be aware of limitations is already to be beyond them.

Africa has no history and did not contribute to anything that mankind enjoyed.

We will die a slow death over the next two years as this oil creeps ashore.

A plant needs roots in order to grow. With man it is the other way around: only when he grows does he have roots and feels at home in the world.

a woman, when she is heroic, is not heroic by halves.

You'll be sorry if you marry a man you don't love.

Lord, forgive them, for they know what they do!

I don't see the point of marriage. But when I need my love, I get my love.

The spirit of delight comes in small ways.

Singing is a lover's thing.

Three in the morning. Making yourself a cup of coffee in the dark, using a flashlight when you pour the boiling water.