Every passion borders on the chaotic, but the collectors passion borders on the chaos of memories. – Walter Benjamin
The greater the decrease in the social significance of an art form, the sharper the distinction between criticism and enjoyment by the public. The conventional is uncritically enjoyed, and the truly new is criticized with aversion. – Walter Benjamin
The idea that happiness could have a share in beauty would be too much of a good thing. – Walter Benjamin
To be happy is to be able to become aware of oneself without fright. – Walter Benjamin
What we call little things are merely the causes of great things; they are the beginning, the embryo, and it is the point of departure which, generally speaking, decides the whole future of an existence. One single black speck may be the beginning of a gangrene, of a storm, of a revolution. – Henri Frederic Amiel