Life

At bottom every man knows well enough that he is a unique being, only once on this earth; and by no extraordinary chance will such a marvelously picturesque piece of diversity in unity as he is, ever be put together a second time.

This world, the eternally imperfect, the eternal and imperfect image of a contradiction – an intoxicating joy to its imperfect creator – that is what I once thought the world.

And granted that your imperative, "living according to Nature," means actually the same as "living according to life"--how could you do DIFFERENTLY? Why should you make a principle out of what you yourselves are, and must be?

Art is essentially the affirmation, the blessing, and the deification of existence.

No small art is it to sleep: it is necessary for that purpose to keep awake all day.

All good things are powerful stimulants to life, even a good book written against life.

Marriage as a long conversation. - When marrying you should ask yourself this question: do you believe you are going to enjoy talking with this woman into your old age? Everything else in a marriage is transitory, but most of the time that you're together will be devoted to conversation.

Just as in the second part of a verse bad poets seek a thought to fit their rhyme, so in the second half of their lives people tend to become more anxious about finding actions, positions, relationships that fit those of their earlier lives, so that everything harmonizes quite well on the surface: but their lives are no longer ruled by a strong thought, and instead, in its place, comes the intention of finding a rhyme.

Let us beware of saying that death is the opposite of life. The living being is only a species of the dead, and a very rare species.

Remain faithful to the earth, my brothers, with the power of your virtue. Let your gift-giving love and your knowledge serve the meaning of the earth. Thus I beg and beseech you. Do not let them fly away from earthly things and beat with their wings against eternal walls. Alas, there has always been so much virtue that has flown away. Lead back to the earth the virtue that flew away, as I do—back to the body, back to life, that it may give the earth a meaning, a human meaning.

One must reach out and try to grasp this astonishing finesse, that the value of lif cannot be estimated.

One has to take a somewhat bold and dangerous line with this existence: especially as, whatever happens, we are bound to lose it.

What, if some day or night a demon were to steal after you into your loneliest loneliness and say to you: 'This life as you now live it and have lived it, you will have to live once more and innumerable times more' ... Would you not throw yourself down and gnash your teeth and curse the demon who spoke thus? Or have you once experienced a tremendous moment when you would have answered him: 'You are a god and never have I heard anything more divine.

One ought to hold on to one's heart; for if one lets it go, one soon loses control of the head too.

The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time…

Love the life you live, live the life you love.

Life does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh.

Everything in the universe goes by indirection. There are no straight lines.

Life is one big road with lots of signs. So when you’re riding through the ruts, don’t complicate your mind. Flee from hate, mischief and jealousy. Don’t bury your thoughts. Put your vision to reality. Wake up and live!

The tragedy of life is not so much what we suffer, but rather what we miss.

Take care of your body with steadfast fidelity. The soul must see through these eyes alone, and if they are dim, the whole world is clouded.

Enjoy life. There's plenty of time to be dead.

You ain’t gonna miss your water until your well runs dry.

Open you eyes, look within. Are you satisfied with the life you’re living.