Man is but a beast without it: such a glorious god is Learning.

Trees bend low with ripened fruit; clouds hang down with gentle rain; noble people bow graciously. This is the way of generous things.

The moth unwitting rushes on the fire, Through ignorance the fish devours the bait, We men know well the foes that lie in wait, Yet cannot shun the meshes of desire.

Neither rings, bright chains, nor bracelets, perfumes, flowers, nor well-trimmed hair, Grace a man like polished language, th' only jewel he should wear.

Knowledge is wonderful and truth serene But man in their service bleeds.

There is no medicine to cure a fool!

A good man may fall, but he falls like a ball [and rebounds]; the ignoble man falls like a lump of clay.

Even the severed branch grows again, and the sunken moon returns: wise men who ponder this are not troubled in adversity.

Three courses open lie to wealth, to give, enjoy, or lose, Who shrinketh from the former two, perforce the third doth choose.

Idleness is a great enemy to mankind. There is no friend like energy, for, if you cultivate that, it will never fail.

Kindness can turn the bad man's heart, and fools convert to wise, Make poison into nectar-juice, and friends of enemies.

Every culture has some ritual for joining two people together and making them stay that way, and ours is giving tax breaks.

We can never skip growing old. As we grow older, we understand old things and things of old times better!

On Pilgrim's Progress: “I could not have believed beforehand that Calvinism could be painted in such exquisitely delightful colors.

A man works for his own dreams but a great man works for their dreams.

Anyone who wants to be a leader must be the servant, not the boss, of those he wants to serve.

Naturally, I'm misanthropic. But the Negronis are helping considerably.

Women have begun to see that if I go through that doorway, I take everybody through it.

My kid was a great baseball player. I thought I had it made. Front-row seats at Yankee Stadium. Then he turned sixteen and wanted to be a rapper.

It would be great to have a little getaway place somewhere hot, maybe down in Mexico, since I love it there. But now that I've banned myself from the sun, I don't know how that will work.

I started running track when I was 13 years old, as a freshman in high school. I ran the 400 meters, which is a very tough race and a full sprint.