A certain readiness to perish is not so very rare, but it is seldom that you meet men whose souls, steeled in the impenetrable armor of resolution, are ready to fight a losing battle to the last, the desire of peace waxes stronger as hope declines, till at last it conquers the very desire of life. Which of us here has not observed this, or maybe experienced something of that feeling in his own person - this extreme weariness of emotions, the vanity of effort, the yearning for rest?

— Joseph Conrad

A certain simplicity of thought is common to serene souls at both ends of the social scale.

— Joseph Conrad

Action is consolatory. It is the enemy of thought and the friend of flattering illusions.

— Joseph Conrad

All a man can betray is his conscience.

— Joseph Conrad

All ambitions are lawful except those which climb upward on the miseries or realities of mankind.

— Joseph Conrad

All idealization makes life poorer. To beautify it is to take away its character of complexity — it is to destroy it.

— Joseph Conrad

All my moral and intellectual being is penetrated by an invincible conviction that whatever falls under the dominion of our senses must be in nature and, however exceptional, cannot differ in its essence from all the other effects of the visible and tangible world of which we are a self-conscious part. The world of the living contains enough marvels and mysteries as it is—marvels and mysteries acting upon our emotions and intelligence in ways so inexplicable that it would almost justify the conception of life as an enchanted state. No, I am too firm in my consciousness of the marvelous to be ever fascinated by the mere supernatural which. . . Is but a manufactured article, the fabrication of minds insensitive to the intimate delicacies of our relation to the dead and to the living, in their countless multitudes; a desecration of our tenderest memories; an outrage on our dignity.

— Joseph Conrad

All this happened in much less time than it takes to tell, since I am trying to interpret for you into slow speech the instantaneous effect of visual impressions.

— Joseph Conrad

And because you not always can keep your eyes shut there comes the real trouble--the heart pain--the world pain. I tell you, my friend, it is not good for you to find you cannot make your dream come true, for the reason that you are not strong enough are, or not clever enough. . . . JA! . . . And all the time you are such a fine fellow too! We? Was? Got I'm Kimmel! How can that be? Ha! Ha! Ha!"’ The shadow prowling amongst the graves of butterflies laughed boisterously.

— Joseph Conrad

And for a moment it seemed to me as if I also were buried in a vast grave full of unspeakable secrets.

— Joseph Conrad