“This thought strengthened in me my belief that all men, without exception, deserve to be pitied, if only because they are alive.”

“Every true writer is like a bird; he repeats the same song, the same theme, all his life. For me, this theme as always been revolt.”

“Loyalty, Signor Molteni, not love. Penelope is loyal to Ulysses but we do not know how far she loved him...and as you know people can sometimes be absolutely loyal without loving. In certain cases, in fact, loyalty is form of vengeance, of black-mail, of recovering one's self-respect. Loyalty, not love.”

“And we all know love is a glass which makes even a monster appear fascinating.”

“You can't think on purpose about somebody or something. Either you think about them naturally or you don't think at all.”

“...my boredom might be described as a malady affecting external objects and consisting of a withering process; an almost instantaneous loss of vitality--just as though one saw a flower change in a few seconds from a bud to decay and dust.”

“De la misma forma que una barra de hierro sometida a una llamapersistente se ablanda y dobla, sentía entonces que el metal de mi ánimo era gradualmenteablandado y doblado por las angustias que lo oprimían.”