Rama

“What did Danton lose his head for, or why was there a Napoleon, if it wasn't to make a nobility of us all?”
― Saul Bellow, The Adventures of Augie March

“To vigorous men intimacy is a matter of shame--and something precious.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil

“The real meaning of persona is a mask, such as actors were accustomed to wear on the ancient stage; and it is quite true that no one shows himself as he is, but wears his mask and plays his part. Indeed, the whole of our social arrangements may be likened to a perpetual comedy; and this is why a man who is worth anything finds society so insipid, while a blockhead is quite at home in it.”
― Arthur Schopenhauer, Studies in Pessimism

“We take unholy risks to prove we are what we cannot be. For instance, I am not even crazy.”
― Amiri Baraka, Transbluesency: Selected Poems, 1961-1995