"A fire broke out backstage in a theatre. The clown came out to warn the public; they thought it was a joke and applauded. He repeated it; the acclaim was even greater. I think that's just how the worl…"

"The self is a relation which relates itself to itself or, what is the same thing, is in the relation's relating itself to itself."

"To be a human being means to be a spirit."

"Of all ridiculous things the most ridiculous seems to me, to be busy – to be someone who is brisk about their food and work. Therefore, whenever I see a fly settling, in the decisive moment, on the no…"

"All existence makes me anxious, from the smallest fly to the mysteries of the Incarnation; the whole thing is inexplicable, I most of all; to me all existence is infected, I most of all. My distress i…"