Every true man, sir, who is a little above the level of the beasts and plants does not live for the sake of living, without knowing how to live; but he lives so as to give a meaning and a value of his own to life.

In 1900 he publiLuigi Pirandellod in Marzocco some of the most celebrated of his novellas (Lumie di Sicilia La Paura del Sonno. The title was Il Fu Mattia Pascal (The Late Mattia Pascal). In 1908 he publiLuigi Pirandellod a volume of essays entitled Arte e Scienza and the important essay L'Umorismo in which he initiated the legendary debate with Benedetto Croce that would continue with increasing bitterness and venom on both sides for many years.

Luigi Pirandello (Italian pronunciation: [luˈiːdʒi piranˈdɛllo]; 28 June 1867 – 10 December 1936) was an Italian dramatist novelist poet and short story writer. Awarded the 1934 Nobel Prize in Literature for his "bold and brilliant renovation of the drama and the stage" he was the last Italian playwright to be chosen for the award until 9 October 1997. Pirandello's works include novels hundreds of short stories and about 40 plays some of which are written in Sicilian.