“Great men are like eagles, and build their nest on some lofty solitude”

“Men need some kind of external activity, because they are inactive within.”

“Solitude will be welcomed or endured or avoided, according as a man's personal value is large or small.”

“A man can be himself only so long as he is alone; and if he does not love solitude, he will not love freedom; for it is only when he is alone that he is really free.”

“The art of not reading is a very important one. It consists in not taking an interest in whatever may be engaging the attention of the general public at any particular time. When some political or ecclesiastical pamphlet, or novel, or poem is making a great commotion, you should remember that he who writes for fools always finds a large public. A precondition for reading good books is not reading bad ones: for life is short.”

“Men are the devils of the earth, and the animals are the tormented souls.- On Religion”

“For the world is Hell, and men are on the one hand the tormented souls and on the other the devils in it.”