In every good poem everything must be both deliberate and instinctive. That is how the poem becomes ideal.

Irony is a clear consciousness of an eternal agility, of the infinitely abundant chaos.

Versatility of education can be found in our best poetry, but the depth of mankind should be found in the philosopher.

Aphorisms are the true form of the universal philosophy.

Nothing truly convincing - which would possess thoroughness, vigor, and skill - has been written against the ancients as yet; especially not against their poetry.

Strictly speaking, the idea of a scientific poem is probably as nonsensical as that of a poetic science.

Novels are the Socratic dialogues of our time. Practical wisdom fled from school wisdom into this liberal form.

Wit as an instrument of revenge is as infamous as art is as a means of sensual titillation.

The main thing is to know something and to say it.

When reason and unreason come into contact, an electrical shock occurs. This is called polemics.

A priest is he who lives solely in the realm of the invisible, for whom all that is visible has only the truth of an allegory.

My fear of endings too often blocks my hope of beginnings.

Her mindset will raise your children not her body or good looks

Parisians overwhelmingly buy small cars. And it's not because people are petite, but because fuel is drop-dead expensive. Gasoline costs more than twice as much in Paris as in New York.

I mean, but obviously, in people's eyes, it still - it can still link Islam to terrorism. I mean, why does it make a difference that they're white?

The holidays are also a time when people freak out about their finances. If you don't want to spend the money, why not try some of the other options instead of killing a bunch of animals?

Marriage is an arrangement by which two people start by getting the best out of each other and often end by getting the worst.

Memory sometimes makes merciful deletions.

Agents and producers have to get you into a box to accommodate their limited imaginations.

I want to be able to discuss craft but I also want to teach writers to trust their instincts and learn to listen to themselves above all others.

We [me and Eugene Levy] both try to play the reality of a moment and don't try to impose humor on something where it doesn't belong. Contrary to what other people seem to think sometimes.