“History is the science of what never happens twice.”

“The history of thought may be summed up in these words: it is absurd by what it seeks and great by what it finds.”

“We see now that the abyss of history is deep enough to hold us all.”

“A work is never completed except by some accident such as weariness, satisfaction, the need to deliver, or death: for, in relation to who or what is making it, it can only be one stage in a series of inner transformations.”

“Poems are never finished - just abandoned”

“I am not averse to generalizing the notion of "modern" to designate a certain way of life, rather than making it purely a synonym of 'contemporary'. There are moments and places in history to which 'we moderns' could return without too greatly disturbing the harmony of those times, without seeming objects infinitely curious and conspicuous... creatures shocking, dissonant, and unassailable.”

“How can one not feel enthusiasm for the man who never said anything vague?”