Writing is its own reward.
Honest criticism means nothing: what one wants is unrestrained passion, fire for fire.
Confusion is a word we have invented for an order which is not understood.
No man is great enough or wise enough for any of us to surrender our destiny to. The only way in which anyone can lead us is to restore to us the belief in our own guidance.
The real leader has no need to lead – he is content to point the way.
There is no salvation in becoming adapted to a world which is crazy.
What have we to offer the world beside the superabundant loot which we recklessly plunder from the earth under the maniacal delusion that this insane activity represents progress and enlightenment?
One’s destination is never a place but rather a new way of looking at things.
One can be absolutely truthful and sincere even though admittedly the most outrageous liar. Fiction and invention are of the very fabric of life.
Imagination is the voice of daring. If there is anything Godlike about God it is that. He dared to imagine everything.
Back of every creation, supporting it like an arch, is faith. Enthusiasm is nothing: it comes and goes. But if one believes, then miracles occur.
I have no money, no resources, no hopes. I am the happiest man alive.
Surely every one realizes, at some point along the way, that he is capable of living a far better life than the one he has chosen.
The real enemy can always be met and conquered, or won over. Real antagonism is based on love, a love which has not recognized itself.
We have two American flags always: one for the rich and one for the poor. When the rich fly it means that things are under control; when the poor fly it means danger, revolution, anarchy.
Do anything, but let it produce joy. Do anything, but let it yield ecstasy.
What seems nasty, painful, evil can become a source of beauty, joy, and strength, if faced with an open mind.
People are like lice – they get under your skin and bury themselves there. You scratch and scratch until the blood comes, but you can’t get permanently deloused.
We should read to give our souls a chance to luxuriate.
Whatever needs to be maintained through force is doomed.