Mateus Levi

“The notion of 'happily ever after', the illusion of lasting happiness, is actually an oxymoron. Either plateau or climax. Everlasting happiness is no happiness, just like an everlasting orgasm is no orgasm at all.”
― Amos Oz, How to Cure a Fanatic

“Much self-condemnation, thus, is a cloak for arrogance. Those who think they overcome pride by condemning themselves could well ponder Spinoza's remark, 'One who despises himself is the nearest to a proud man'. In ancient Athens, when a politician was trying to get the votes of the working class by appearing very humble in a tattered coat with big holes in it, Socrates unmasked his hypocrisy by exclaiming, 'Your vanity shows forth from every whole in your coat'.”
― Rollo May, Man's Search for Himself

“If heaven had granted me five more years, I could have become a real painter.”
― Hokusai Katsushika

“In addition to curiosity and imagination, another effective antidote to fanaticism might be humor, and especially the ability to make fun of ourselves. I, for one, have never met a fanatic with a sense of humor. Nor have I ever known anyone capable of making a joke at his own expense become a fanatic. Humor engenders a curvature that allows one to see, at least momentarily, old things in a new light. Or to see yourself, at least for a moment, as others see you. This curvature invites us to let hot air out of any excessive importance, including self-importance. Moreover, humor usually entails a measure of relativity, of abasing the sublime.”
― Amos Oz, שלום לקנאים