“The superior man has a dignified ease without pride. The mean man has pride without a dignified ease.”

“Only man can be absurd: for only man can be dignified.”

“The happy man only feels at ease because the unhappy bear their burden in silence. Without this silence, happiness would be impossible.”

“Never throughout history has a man who lived a life of ease left a name worth remembering.”

“Look in the heart and write...The man who writes like that, without pride or artifice, as it were for himself, is in reality speaking for humanity. Humanity will recognize itself in him, because it is human nature that has inspired the discourse. Life recognizes life!”

“I was a man who thrived on solitude; without it I was like another man without food or water. Each day without solitude weakened me. I took no pride in my solitude; but I was dependent on it. The darkness of the room was like sunlight to me.”