Convictions are prisons.

A degree of culture, and assuredly a very high one, is attained when man rises above superstitions and religious notions and fears, and, for instance, no longer believes in guardian angels or in original sin, and has also ceased to talk of the salvation of his soul.

I have thought of you much, and have shared with you in thought much that has been elevating, stirring, and gay, so much so that it has been like living with my dear friends. If only you know how novel and strange that seems to an old hermit like me? How often it has made me laugh at myself!

Man, the bravest of animals, and the one most accustomed to suffering, does not repudiate suffering as such; he desires it, he even seeks it out, provided he is shown a meaning for it, a purpose of suffering. The meaninglessness of suffering, not suffering itself, was the curse that lay over mankind so far.

One should only speak where one cannot remain silent, and only speak of what one has conquered —the rest is all chatter, literature, bad breeding.

Ich will keinen Autor mehr lesen, dem man anmerkt, er wollte ein Buch machen; sondern nur jene, deren Gedanken unversehens ein Buch werden.

It is unworthy of great spirits to spread abroad the agitation they feel.