I have never belonged wholeheartedly to a country, a state, nor to a circle of friends, nor even to my own family.
My personal external circumstances played only a minor role in my thoughts and my emotions.
Perception of this world by thought, leaving out everything subjective, became, partly consciously, partly unconsciously, my supreme aim.
When I was still a rather precocious young man, I already realized most vividly the futility of the hopes and aspirations that most men pursue throughout their lives.
Well-being and happiness never appeared to me as an absolute aim. I am even inclined to compare such moral aims to the ambitions of a Pig.