There are people who believe everything is sane and sensible that is done with a solemn face. … It is no great art to say something briefly when, like Tacitus, one has something to say; when one has nothing to say, however, and none the less writes a whole book and makes truth … into a liar — that I call an achievement.


E 59 - Aphorisms (1765-1799) - Notebook E (1775 - 1776)


There are people who believe everything is sane and sensible that is done with a solemn face. … It is no great art to say something briefly when,...

There are people who believe everything is sane and sensible that is done with a solemn face. … It is no great art to say something briefly when,...

There are people who believe everything is sane and sensible that is done with a solemn face. … It is no great art to say something briefly when,...

There are people who believe everything is sane and sensible that is done with a solemn face. … It is no great art to say something briefly when,...