“Eternity is a mere moment, just long enough for a joke.”

— Hermann Hesse, Steppenwolf (1927)

About Hermann Hesse

1877 – 1962

German-Swiss novelist and poet, Nobel laureate in Literature (1946), author of "Siddhartha" and "Steppenwolf".

“Oh, love isn't there to make us happy. I believe it exists to show us how much we can endure.”

“I have never lost the feeling of contradiction that lies behind all knowledge.”

“The bird fights its way out of the egg. The egg is the world.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.”

“I can resist everything except temptation.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“I have nothing to declare except my genius.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.”

“Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.”

“Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn't.”