The true picture of the past flits by. The past can be seized only as an image which flashes up at the instant when it can be recognized and is never seen again. – Walter Benjamin
The adjustment of reality to the masses and of the masses to reality is a process of unlimited scope, as much for thinking as for perception. – Walter Benjamin
He who observes etiquette but objects to lying is like someone who dresses fashionably but wears no vest. – Walter Benjamin
I know the compassion of others is a relief at first. I dont despise it. But it cant quench pain, it slips through your soul as through a sieve. And when our suffering has been dragged from one pity to another, as from one mouth to another, we can no longer respect or love it. – Georges Bernanos