“Every man of action has a strong dose of egoism, pride, hardness, and cunning. But all those things will be regarded as high qualities if he can make them the means to achieve great ends.”

“In our gradually shrinking world, everyone is in need of all the others. We must look for man wherever we can find him. When on his way to Thebes Oedipus encountered the Sphinx, his answer to its riddle was: «Man». That simple word destroyed the monster. We have many monsters to destroy. Let us think of the answer of Oedipus.”

“Don't ask me who's influenced me. A lion is made up of all the lambs he's digested, and I've been reading all my life.”

“My vantage point must have been somewhere between our little house and the steamer jetty. The sea was exceptionally calm. Lit up by a sun that you could have taken down and put in your knapsack. Everything: Mooring rings on the harbor wall, piles of timber, the arches of the houses, caiques, windows – all of them were faithful, in the way we describe a dog being faithful.”

“Τούτη η κολόνα έχει μια τρύπα, βλέπεις την Περσεφόνη;”

“And a soulif it is to know itselfmust lookinto its own soul:the stranger and enemy, we've seen him in the mirror.”

“Or perhaps in Slytherin, you'll make your real friends. Those cunning folk use any means to achieve their ends.”