“Does not the latent feeling that much of their striving is to no purpose tend to infuse large quantities of sham into men’s work?”

On the hollowness that can enter effort · Diary

• Authenticity
• Purpose
• Work

“I always get back to the question, is it really necessary that men should consume so much of their bodily and mental energies in the machinery of civilized life?”

Questioning the cost of modern existence · Diary

• Civilization
• Life
• Work

“Writing is learning to say nothing, more cleverly each day.”

A wry observation on the craft of implication and restraint · Diary or prose writings

• Language
• Style
• Writing

“I have been an Official all my life, without the least turn for it. I never could attain a true official manner, which is highly artificial and handles trifles with ludicrously disproportionate gravity.”

Reflecting on the artificial gravity demanded by bureaucratic life · Diary

• Authenticity
• Society
• Work