Book: Human, all too human

Wrong understanding of sleep. In the era of the rude, the original culture man believed that in dreams he will know another real world; here lies the beginning of all metaphysics. Without sleep people would have no reason to divide the world into two halves. The division into body and soul is also connected with the ancient understanding of sleep, as well as the assumption of an imaginary spiritual body, i.e., the origin of all belief in spirits and probably also of belief in gods. "Dead continues to live because he is living in a dream" - so infer once, many thousands of years in a row.

[Astrology] believes that the starry sky revolves around the fate of man; the moral man presumes that all that is dear to his heart, must also be the essence and heart of things.

A sign of the highest culture is a greater appreciation of small, invisible truths found by rigorous methods, than beneficent and glaring fallacies, owe their origin to the metaphysical and artistic ages and men.

Often in dealing with people of goodwill to simulate, though it is unclear to us the motives of their actions.

We often contradict any opinion, even though we actually only unsympathetic tone in which it is presented.

The need to reject the gift just because it was offered improperly, irritating against the donor.

Often enough to give the person whom you caused damage, the reason make a joke at our expense, to meet him or even have in our favor.

We are so willing to remain in the lap of nature, because it has no opinions about us.

Women can enter into friendship with a man; but to preserve it - for this need a small fraction of physical antipathy.

The only way we attach special importance to the possession of any virtue, when we notice its total absence in our opponent.

The habit of intellectual principles without reasons is called faith.

The essence of a free mind is not that he adheres to more correct views, but rather that he turned away from the conventional still won if he thus win or lose lose. But still, usually on his side will be the truth, or at least the spirit of research of truth: he discoversa reasons, and the rest of faith.

Free mind is a relative concept. - A free mind is one who thinks otherwise than is expected of him based on his origin, environment, his class and position, or based on the prevailing beliefs of the era. He is the exception, and the minds of prisoners - rule.

It will take a little time, and the artist will look like a gorgeous relic and to honor his memory, like some kind of beautiful stranger, the power and beauty which radiate the happiness of bygone eras, - honors, which we are reluctant to pay the same as we do. Perhaps, the best in us - a legacy of the spirit of feelings of former times, to get direct access which we now do not know how; the sun had set, but the sky of our life still burning and Shine his light, although we do not see it.