For, to be a stranger is naturally a very positive relation it is a specific form of interaction. – Georg Simmel
In the latter case life rests upon a thousand presuppositions which the individual can never trace back to their origins, and verify but which he must accept upon faith and belief. – Georg Simmel
Discretion is nothing other than the sense of justice with respect to the sphere of the intimate contents of life. – Georg Simmel
Every relationship between two individuals or two groups will be characterized by the ratio of secrecy that is involved in it. – Georg Simmel
I never appreciated positive heroes in literature. They are almost always cliches, copies of copies, until the model is exhausted. I prefer perplexity, doubt, uncertainty, not just because it provides a more productive literary raw material, but because that is the way we humans really are. – Jose Saramago