To outline Hamlet's lack of courage, Shakespeare, in his dialogue with the actors, portrays him as a good theatrical critic.
To write perfect prose you must also be a master of metrical forms.
To overcome the worst sufferings there are two means: opium and work.
To be loved properly, with all your heart, you must suffer yourself. Compassion, love's greatest blessing, can be love itself. Of all the gods who have ever lived, Christ is loved more than others for this very reason. Especially women...
Humour, like ivy, twines around the tree. Without a trunk, he's good for nothing.
Youth is disinterested in thought and feeling; therefore she understands and feels the deepest truth.
I wouldn't say that women don't have character, just that they have a different character every day.
I hate all denial, and could not part with any German cat, any German dog, however insufferable the fleas and their loyalty might be to me.
I am a man of the most peaceful disposition. Here is what I would like: modest hut, a thatched roof, but a good bed, good food, very fresh milk and butter, flowers in front of the window, more beautiful trees in front of the doors, and if God wills to make me happy, will send me a joy: on these trees be hanged six or seven of my enemies. Being sincerely moved, before death I will forgive them all the insults they have caused me in life. Yes, we must forgive our enemies, but only after they are hanged.
In philosophical writings, the content should come first. In order to learn, people must either be given a new truth or be shown the relationships that connect truths that seemed unrelated to each other.
Genius is like those vast lands in which there are places little cared for and poorly cultivated: in such a large space not everything can be cultivated with care. Only people with small minds take care of everything: a small garden is easy to maintain.
It is said that every blow has an evil intention. But tell me then why do we laugh at hitting a child?
Even the smallest things have countless relationships. The human mind being limited, it cannot easily understand them, so it assumes that the relationships it does not observe do not even exist.
The path to humanism is a self-identification with the wretched.
If virtue does not become a passion, we do not respect it. We just always try to respect it, impulsively.
If you want to be rich, do not think of increasing your property, but only of reducing your greed.
If you want to do right, consider and believe only in the public interest.
Errors are sometimes of such a nature that their formation requires more mind and thought than the discovery of the truth.
Knowing some principles can easily make up for ignoring some facts.
Sometimes, of two people, the most honest in his deeds is the least passionate about virtue.
The art of politics is the art of doing in such a way that it suits everyone to be virtuous.
The truth is born through various debates. Consequently, it is a shame that we do not dare to debate and talk about everything.
The truth can only be found in the forbidden books, the others lie.
When the fool takes office, everyone treats him as a genius. When the trunk of the tree takes the form of God and is brought before the altar, everyone forgets that firewood is also made from the same tree, and Baal in front of the altar is considered the same as God.
Our wisdom has limits, but our pride is infinite.
He who is receptive to strong passions is capable of the greatest deeds.
The love of fame is simply the desire to please one's fellows.
The sea does not go beyond its given limits. Only man dares to do it.
People must be taken as they are; to be angry at their pride is to complain of the gales of spring, the heat of summer, the rains of autumn, and the frosts of winter.
There can be no doubt that every man has, indispensably, the best opinion of himself, and therefore what we value in others is only our image and likeness to ourselves.