. . . You must know that I am not one of those who neglect the body so as to make of it an offering to the soul, for my soul would have no wish to be served in such a manner. All the soaring of my spirit begins in the blood, for which reason I let a pure and simple mode of living, free of narcotics and stimulants, go on ahead of my work like an introductory prelude; in this way I am not deceived of that true spiritual joy which is to be found in a happy and radiant communion with the whole of nature.
When I look into my conscience I see only one law, inexorably commanding: to enclose myself in myself and to complete at a stroke the task that was ordained from the centre of my heart. I obey.
— “Letter to a Young Girl”