There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.

I don't want to be at the mercy of my emotions. I want to use them, to enjoy them, and to dominate them.

Behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic.

The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame.

Oh, brothers! I don't care for brothers. My elder brother won't die, and my younger brothers seem never to do anything else.

If a man treats life artistically, his brain is his heart.

What fire does not destroy, it hardens

All art is at once surface and symbol. Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril.

Whenever a man does a thoroughly stupid thing, it is always from the noblest motives.

Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter.

The basis of optimism is sheer terror.

You are a good leader when your actions inspire others to do good for themselves and for others.

It is not the class you come from, but that with which you carry yourself that matters most.

The worst pain in the world goes beyond the physical. Even further beyond any other emotional pain one can feel. It is the betrayal of a friend.

The challenge of modernity is to live without illusions and without becoming disillusioned.

Not badly, considering I was seated between Jesus Christ and Napoleon.

We move from the illusion of certainty, to the certainty of illusion

No people in the history of the world have ever been so misunderstood, so misjudged, and so cruelly maligned.

I had a job interview at an insurance company once, and the lady said 'Where do you see yourself in five years?' I said, 'Celebrating the fifth year anniversary of you asking me this question!'

Impossible is not a fact, it's an opinion.

When you open the door and invite in all sentient beings as your guests, you have to drop your agenda.