[Never forget that you have the whole world, the whole of life, before you . . . And that, for you, life can be and ought to be more real, more full, and more joyful than it has perhaps ever been for any human being . . . Don’t mutilate it in advance by any renunciation. Don’t allow yourself to be imprisoned by any affection. Preserve your solitude. If the day ever comes when a real friendship is bestowed on you there will be no conflict between your inner solitude and this friendship. On the contrary, that is the infallible sign by which you will know it. Other affections ought to be severely disciplined. In any case, there is only one serious weakness that you have to master, only a single one, but at the risk of dying without ever having lived . . .] (First and Last Notebooks)