Mankind cannot get on without a certain amount of absurdity.

One can never read too little of bad, or too much of good books: bad books are intellectual poison; they destroy the mind.

A major difficulty in translation is that a word in one language seldom has a precise equivalent in another one.

There are two things which make it impossible to believe that this world is the successful work of an all-wise, all-good, and at the same time, all-powerful being; firstly, the misery which abounds in it everywhere; and secondly, the obvious imperfection of its highest product, man, who is a burlesque of what he should be.

Consciousness makes the individual careful to maintain his own existence; and if this were not so, there would be no surety for the preservation of the species. From all this it is clear that individuality is not a form of perfection, but rather a limitation; and so to be freed from it is not loss but gain.

Religion is the metaphysics of the masses.

The less one, as a result of objective or subjective conditions, has to come into contact with people, the better off one is for it.

With health, everything is a source of pleasure; without it, nothing else, whatever it may be, is enjoyable...Healt h is by far the most important element in human happiness.

The reason domestic pets are so lovable and so helpful to us is because they enjoy, quietly and placidly, the present moment.

The doctor sees all the weakness of mankind; the lawyer all the wickedness, the theologian all the stupidity.

To expect a man to retain everything that he has ever read is like expecting him to carry about in his body everything that he has ever eaten.

The scenes and events of long ago, and the persons who took part in them, wear a charming aspect to the eye of memory, which sees only the outlines and takes no note of disagreeable details. The present enjoys no such advantage, and so it always seems defective.

Every person takes the limits of their own field of vision for the limits of the world.

Whatever one may say, the happiest moment of the happy man is the moment of his falling asleep, and the unhappiest moment of the unhappy man is that of his awaking.

The discovery of truth is prevented more effectively, not by the false appearance things present and which mislead into error, not directly by weakness of the reasoning powers, but by preconceived opinion, by prejudice.

Style is what gives value and currency to thoughts.

Treat a work of art like a prince: let it speak to you first.

Almost all of our sorrows spring out of our relations with other people.

It is with trifles, and when he is off guard, that a man best reveals his character.

The shortness of life, so often lamented, may be the best thing about it.