Many attempt to harvest what was never planted.

Pain narrows consciousness; pleasure blurs it.

When Medusa looks in the mirror, she sees the Lady of Sorrows.

My passions have never jumped out of the fireplace and set fire to the carpet.

Retirement requires the invention of a new hedonism, not a return to the hedonism of youth

The sewing machine joins what the scissors have cut asunder, plus whatever else comes in its path.

Clothes make a statement. Costumes tell a story.

The laughter of the aphorism is sometimes triumphant, but seldom carefree.

'Be faithful to your roots' is the liberal version of 'Stay in your ghetto.'

Every day begins with an act of courage and hope: getting out of bed.

Totem poles and wooden masks no longer suggest tribal villages but fashionable drawing rooms in New York and Paris.

Success attracts success to build strong partnerships for more successful ventures whilst failure attracts failure to have more pity parties.

States should not balance their budgets on the backs of students.

In a regular class I don't focus on the form, but I think that focus is helpful for brainstorming and coming up with ideas quickly, especially with autobiographical material.

you’re going to miss me, but you’re not going to admit it

You've gotta do things that make you happy.

There are no solids. There are no things. There are only interfering and non-interfering patterns operative in pure principle, and principles are eternal.

My single pair of eyes Contain the universe they see; Their mirrored multiplicity Is packed into a hollow body Where I reflect the many, in my one.

It is by no means necessary that a great nation should always stand at the heroic level. But no nation has the root of greatness in it unless in time of need it can rise to the heroic mood.

As long as we think we are not that bad, the idea of grace will never change us.

We have created stability, which is a necessary condition for development. But I can't call this system authoritarian.