To inquire and to create;—these are the grand centres around which all human pursuits revolve, or at least to these objects do they all more or less … - Wilhelm von Humboldt

As soon as one stops searching for knowledge, or if one imagines that it need not be creatively sought in the depths of the human spirit but can be assembled extensively by collecting and classifying facts, everything is irrevocably and forever lost.

Gelehrte dirigieren ist nicht viel besser als eine Komödiantengruppe unter sich zu haben.

Freedom is but the possibility of a various and indefinite activity; while government, or the exercise of dominion, is a single, but yet real activity. The ardent desire for freedom, therefore, is at first only too frequently suggested by the deep-felt consciousness of its absence.