574 Quotes by Saul Bellow

The terms which, in his inmost heart, each man knows. As I know mine. As all know. For that is the truth of it — that we all know, God, that we know, that we know, we know, we know.

I have, perhaps, a slave-like constitution which is too easily restrained by bonds; it then becomes rebellious and bursts out in a comic revolution.

Conquered people tend to be witty.

I would like to explain that I consider prayer above all an act of gratitude for existence.

Those who have a why to live for can bear almost any how. The necessary premise is that a person is somehow more than his or her "characteristics," all the emotions, strivings, tastes, and constructions which it pleases us to call "My Life." We have grounds to hope that a Life is something more than a cloud of particles, mere facticity. Go through what is comprehensible and you conclude that only the incomprehensible gives any light.

A person either creates or destroys. There is no neutrality.

One must bear in mind the odd angle or slant that the rays of love have to take in order to reach a heart like mine.

My face too blind, my mind too limited, my instincts too narrow. But this intensity, doesn't it mean anything?

I immersed myself in The Periodic Table gladly and gratefully. There is nothing superfluous here, everything this book contains is essential. It is wonderful pure, and beautifully translated...I was deeply impressed.