I wandered off, walking through streets that seemed emptier than ever, thinking that if I didn't stop, if I kept on walking, I wouldn't notice that the world I thought I knew was no longer there.

Every book has a soul, the soul of the person who wrote it and the soul of those who read it and dream about it.

I don't suppose you have many friends. Neither do I. I don't trust people who say they have a lot of friends. It's a sure sign that they don't really know anyone.

Over time, loneliness gets inside you and doesn't go away.

Don't be afraid of being scared. To be afraid is a sign of common sense. Only complete idiots are not afraid of anything.

We spend a good part of our lives dreaming, especially when we're awake.

We all give up great expectations along the way.

I can't die yet, doctor. Not yet. I have things to do. Afterwords I'll have a whole lifetime in which to die.

I've always said that idleness dulls the spirit. We have to keep the brain busy, or at least the hands if we don't have a brain.

It is impossible to survive in a prolonged state of reality.

Silence makes idiots seem wise even for a minute.

I don't care what you say to me. I care what you share with me.

I don't judge people. It blurs out the center of my attention, my focus, myself.

When I look at great works of art or listen to inspired music, I sense intimate portraits of the specific times in which they were created.

We all have unresolved shame, because it is used as a tool to control behavior.

He who requires much from himself and little from others, will keep himself from being the object of resentment.

I really shine in front of prominently Jewish crowds. Normally I really beat myself up, but as far as Jewish audiences go, I'm at the top of my game.

A little still she strove, and much repented, And whispering “I will ne'er consent”—consented.

We do not have a debt crisis right now, but we see it coming. We know it's irrefutably happening. And the point we're trying to make with our budget is let's get ahead of this problem.

Society does not go down because of the activities of criminals, But because of the inactivities of the good people.

The best paradoxes raise questions about what kinds of contradictions can occur-what species of impossibilities are possible.