But there is nothing enduring in the world, and therefore even joy in the second minute is already not as acute as in the first; in the third minute it becomes still weaker and finally merges unnoticeably with the usual condition of the soul, as a circle on the water, caused by the fall of a pebble, finally merges with the smooth surface.

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The current generation now sees everything clearly, it marvels at the errors, it laughs at the folly of its ancestors, not seeing that this chronicle is all overscored by divine fire, that every letter of it cries out, that from everywhere the piercing finger is pointed at it, at this current generation; but the current generation laughs and presumptuously, proudly begins a series of new errors, at which their descendants will also laugh afterwards.

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A word aptly uttered or written cannot be cut away by an axe.

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The longer and more carefully we look at a funny story, the sadder it becomes.

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You can't imagine how stupid the whole world has grown nowadays.

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Whatever you may say, the body depends on the soul.

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I saw that I'd get nowhere on the straight path, and that to go crookedly was straighter.

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Nothing could be more pleasant than to live in solitude, enjoy the spectacle of nature, and occasionally read some book.

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Keep not money, but keep good people's company.

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We have the marvelous gift of making everything insignificant.

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