Good writers are of necessity rare.

Books minister to our knowledge, to our guidance, and to our delight, by their truth, their uprightness, and their art.

Science is the systematic classification of experience.

Originality is independence, not rebellion; it is sincerity, not antagonism.

It is unhappily true that much insincere Literature and Art, executed solely with a view to effect, does succeed by deceiving the public.

No man ever made a great discovery without the exercise of the imagination.

We must never assume that which is incapable of proof.

The true function of philosophy is to educate us in the principles of reasoning and not to put an end to further reasoning by the introduction of fixed conclusions.

Insincerity is always weakness; sincerity even in error is strength.

To write much, and to write rapidly, are empty boasts. The world desires to know what you have done, and not how you did it.

Literature is at once the cause and the effect of social progress.

If you want to win a game of life, there is only one way — you must be unpredictable. Otherwise life will never forgive such a deadly sin.

The clearer your vision becomes, the easier it is to guard what God calls you to do.

If I put faith in medication, if I can smile a crooked smile, if I can talk on television, if I can walk an empty mile.

The realistic way to reduce the amount of money in politics is to reduce the amount of politics in money -- the importance of government in allocating wealth and opportunity.

I think that Africa has made quite rapid progress and a lot of the conflicts that we saw on the continent have abated.

I just owe it to myself, to God and to everybody who supports me and people who don't even know me yet, to just be fully intentional and authentically real with everything I do, say and create.

In ethics, prudence is not an important virtue, but in the world it is almost everything.

Someone in Ireland asked me how many Republican poets there were in the U.S., and I thought maybe two. Maybe there are 10,000 poets, and maybe there are two Republicans among them.

Forgotten history. You, however, are my present. (Varyk) Oh, goody. Do I have to wear a bow? (Fang)

I try to exercise in nature, and I try to play golf once a month. The last time I played golf with my wife, however, she got better scores than me, which became an additional source of stress.