“The real question is: How sturdy and solid is the floor our civilization stands on? How many lives with no prospects, shattered and senseless, can it bear the weight of before it cracks somewhere or other, splits at the joints?”

“Dammi un bacio" disse Rita. Stranamente commosso, Manfred avvolse il suo viso con le sue grandi mani calde e la baciò. "Stiamo bene insieme, noi due" disse lei piano, mentre si guardavano. "Le tue mani sono proprio fatte per me. E anche la bocca.”

“Between killing and dying there's a third way: live”

“Night thoughts have a different color than day thoughts, a different slant, more than anything else they know all the secret paths and chinks in the armor they can take advantage of to force their way into consciousness.”

“You love tenderly and warmly, but your love is like friendship. That's why you have good friends, you're sociable, sympathetic toward people. Until this dissatisfaction comes over you-you know what I'm talking about. Then you become moody, can even repulse people who are close to you, even people who love you, you know why. Those are bad times when everything goes cold, and they follow the times of great love...”

“Das Ungenügen mit sich selbst ist der eigentliche Stachel.”

“Aber alles, was wir aussprechen, muss wahr sein, weil wir es empfinden. Da haben Sie mein poetisches Geständnis”