"Der Partner des Arztes ..., - dem er die Partie abzugewinnen hat, - ist das menschliche Leiden. ... Aber dazu gehört wohl eine besonbesondere Art der Liebe." - "Liebe zu den Menschen - oder zur Erkenntnis?" - "Wie will man das trennen?"... "Das muss man trennen!"

Carl Zuckmayer, Herr über Leben und Tod (1938)

Was nützt das göttliche System, solange der der Mensch ein Schwein ist?

Erich Kästner, Fabian - Die Geschichte eines Moralisten (1931)

People like to see a king uncrowned, like to see a thoroughbred racehorse beaten when he's running at the top of his form and has outrun everything in sight. They wanted to see demonstrated right before their eyes that there was no such thing as invincibility, wanted to see that the king, the top dog, the best man, has a flaw, can be beaten like them, is vulnerable like them, can be defeated, unfrocked, uncrowned, knocked down, and thus brought right down to their level.

Ann Petry, The Narrows (1953)

The great danger [...] in the world today is that the very feeling and conception of what is a human being might well be lost.

Richard Wright zu Jean-Paul Sartre