One's life has value so long as one attributes value to the life of others, by means of love, friendship, and compassion

Non avevo idee sovversive, anzi, non avevo affatto idee, su nulla; ma per tutto il giorno mi allenavo a riflettere, a comprendere, a criticare, e mi ponevo domande; cercavo con precisione la verità: questo scrupolo mi rendeva inadatta alle conversazioni mondane.

Ethics is the triumph of freedom over facticity.

The fear of death never left me; I couldn't get used to the thought; I would still sometimes shake and weep with terror. By contrast, the fact of existence here and now sometimes took on a glorious splendour.

One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.

If so few female geniuses are found in history, it is because society denies them any means of expression.

; the man who does not "understand" a woman is happy to replace his subjective deficiency with an objective resistance; instead of admitting his ignorance, he recognizes the presence of a mystery exterior to himself: here is an excuse that flatters his laziness and vanity at the same time.

I was still keenly aware as in my childhood of the inexplicable nature of my presence here on earth; where had I come from here; where was I going? I often thought about these things with a kind of stupefied horror and used to fill my diary with long self-communings

Their behavior is defined and can be judged only within this given situation, and it is possible that in this situation, limited like every human situation, they realize a perfect assertion of their freedom. But once there appears a possibility of liberation, it is resignation of freedom not to exploit the possibility, a resignation which implies dishonesty and which is a positive fault.