“To hold in the mind forever two ideas which seemed to be in opposition. The first . . . acceptance totally without rancor, of life as it is, and men as they are [;] . . . the second . . . that one must never, in one's life, accept . . . injustices as commonplace but must fight them with all one's strength.”

“It began to seem that one would have to hold in the mind forever two ideas which seemed to be in opposition. The first idea was acceptance, the acceptance, totally without rancor, of life as it is, and men as they are: in the light of this idea, it goes without saying that injustice is a commonplace. But this did not mean that one could be complacent, for the second idea was of equal power: that one must never, in one's own life, accept these injustices as commonplace but must fight them with all one's strength. This fight begins, however, in the heart and it now had been laid to my charge to keep my own heart free of hatred and despair. This intimation made my heart heavy and, now that my father was irrecoverable, I wished that he had been beside me so that I could have searched his face for the answers which only the future would give me now.”

“In order not to find life unbearable, you must accept two things: the ravages of time and the injustices of man.”

“One must require from each one the duty which each one can perform. Accepted authority rests first of all on reason.”

“It is never easy being the one who takes the first step. But if we want things to mature in our life, we must fight for them relentlessly without compromise or excuse.”

“Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them.”