An American of the present day reading his Sunday newspaper in a state of lazy collapse is one of the most perfect symbols of the triumph of quantity over quality that the world has yet seen.

Anyone who thus looks up has some chance of becoming worthy to be looked up to in turn.

For behind all imperialism is ultimately the imperialistic individual, just as behind all peace is ultimately the peaceful individual.

The humanities need to be defended today against the encroachments of physical science, as they once needed to be against the encroachment of theology.

Furthermore, America suffers not only from a lack of standards, but also not infrequently from a confusion or an inversion of standards.

The industrial revolution has tended to produce everywhere great urban masses that seem to be increasingly careless of ethical standards.

Democracy is now going forth on a crusade against imperialism.

The humanitarian lays stress almost solely upon breadth of knowledge and sympathy.

If a man went simply by what he saw, he might be tempted to affirm that the essence of democracy is melodrama.

We must not, however, be like the leaders of the great romantic revolt who, in their eagerness to get rid of the husk of convention, disregarded also the humane aspiration.

A man needs to look, not down, but up to standards set so much above his ordinary self as to make him feel that he is himself spiritually the underdog.

Leaders live by choice, not by accident.

Such a distant, forgotten thing, this Light.

If your motive is in any way to promote greatness for yourself, you're in the wrong calling.

My African roots made me what I am today. They’re the reason I’m from the Dominican Republic. They’re the reason I exist at all. To these roots I owe everything.

The ones that love us never really leave us.

The reason we go to poetry is not for wisdom, but for the dismantling of wisdom

Anything that makes you feel good is always going to be drawing in more.

I was involved in the Great Folk Music scare back in the sixties, when it almost caught on.

I learned so much from Sue about the Xs and Os of the game of basketball.

When the status and power of women is greater so also is the nation’s general quality of life; when they are lower, so is the quality of life for all.