They fancied themselves free, and no one will ever be free so long as there are pestilences.

I know that man is capable of great deeds. But if he isn't capable of great emotion, well, he leaves me cold.

The truth is that everyone is bored, and devotes himself to cultivating habits.

I have no idea what's awaiting me, or what will happen when this all ends. For the moment I know this: there are sick people and they need curing.

But, you know, I feel more fellowship with the defeated than with saints. Heroism and sanctity don't really appeal to me, I imagine. What interests me is being a man.

And indeed it could be said that once the faintest stirring of hope became possible, the dominion of plague was ended.

For who would dare to assert that eternal happiness can compensate for a single moment's human suffering

Do you believe in God, doctor?"No - but what does that really mean? I'm fumbling in the dark, struggling to make something out. But I've long ceased finding that original.

We refuse to despair of mankind. Without having the unreasonable ambition to save men, we still want to serve them.

But memory is less disposed to compromise

It is in the thick of a calamity that one gets hardened to the truth, in other words to silence.

In the times of barbaric wars

We're two fools, you know, " he said, looking into her eyes. "I don't remember the moment I fell in love with you, but I breathe it in every minute, every day.

You do not write a novel for praise, or thinking of your audience. You write for yourself; you work out between you and your pen the things that intrigue you

Waxing was an interesting experience. Not quite as painful as I expected.

Water adopts the shape of its receptacle, it is sometimes a trickle and sometimes a wild sea.

Written truth is four-dimensional. If we consult it at the wrong time, or read it at the wrong place, it is as empty and shapeless as a dress on a hook.

I'd rather work with someone who's good at their job but doesn't like me, than someone who likes me but is a ninny.

I'm studying Kabbalah, which is really the essence of Jewish spirituality.

Oft on the dappled turf at ease I sit, and play with similes, Loose type of things through all degrees.

And then you think about what you think, which is very dangerous.