Moldau

“You must still have chaos in you to be able to give birth to a dancing star.”

“I know of no better life purpose than to perish in attempting the great and the impossible.”

“In order that I might truly face the sun, the world itself must be destroyed.”

“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!”

“I wish I could tell you about the South Pacific. The way it actually was. The endless ocean. The infinite specks of coral we called islands. Coconut palms nodding gracefully toward the ocean. Reefs upon which waves broke into spray, and inner lagoons, lovely beyond description. I wish I could tell you about the sweating jungle, the full moon rising behind the volcanoes, and the waiting. The waiting. The timeless, repetitive waiting.”

“Find life experiences and swallow them whole. Travel. Meet many people. Go down some dead ends and explore dark alleys. Try everything. Exhaust yourself in the glorious pursuit of life.”

“Il faut aller voir.”

“As long as life is ascending, happiness is the same as instinct.”

First, I asked Bolsheviks: “What are you fighting for?” “For the Soviet government,” they told me. I asked the same [of ] Lithuanians. They answered, “for our religion.” When I asked Germans, they told me: “we are fighting for the fighting itself. When we will be killed, this will be our destiny and our aim will be achieved.” I could not understand this answer.

“Fate guides the willing, and drags the unwilling.”

“Where is the lightning to lick you with its tongue? Where is the frenzy with which you should be cleansed? Behold, I teach you the overman: He is the lightning. He is the frenzy.”

“It gave me a strange feeling, and the rest of that night I didn't say much, but merely sat there and drank, trying to decide if I was getting older and wiser, or just plain old.”

“With enough courage, you can do without a reputation.”