Yet I think he loved himself too much to give his whole affection to any one.
A great man has always seemed to me the greatest of created things, and though Prince Puckler can scarcely be numbered among the great men of mankind, he was undoubtedly the greatest among those who surrounded him at Branitz.

In me, the youth of nineteen, he awakened admiration, interest, and curiosity, and his "You are a poet" sometimes strengthened my courage, sometimes disheartened me.

My boyish ambitions in those days had but one purpose, and that was the vocation of a poet.
I was still ignorant that the Muse kisses only those who have won her love by the greatest sufferings.

Life as yet seemed a festal hall, and as the bird flies from bough to bough wherever a red berry tempts him, my heart was attracted by every pair of bright eyes which glanced kindly at me.

When I entered upon my last term, my Leporello list was long enough, and contained pictures from many different classes.