It has been said that if the opening phrase of a classical minuet can be fitted to the words "Are you the O'Reilly who owns this hotel?" then it was written by Haydn; if it can't then it wasn't.

We must pursue knowledge and wisdom above all other things.

Respect and mutual respect are important. I, for instance, often show my latest work so that people can see how I work.

There has to be some self-denial.

The one thing more difficult than following a regime is keeping from imposing it on others.

There is nothing so revered yet so reviled as war; for even as it brings out the worst in men, it also brings out the best in them.

Change, change,--we all covet change.

It's kind of fun to listen to Christians who say: I'm a New Testament Christian. What other kind of Christian is there?

It's okay to be kind of looking for what you want and trying out all kinds of different ideas and different course work, etc.

If you turned the fabric of our lives over, I imagined the design on the backside would be woven in the bleak grays of doubt and fear.

I was four when I announced my ambition to write, eight when I began publishing such claims.