Socrates had no system to teach. Throughout, his philosophy was a spiritual exercise, an invitation to a new way of life, active reflection, and living consciousness.

Ancient philosophy proposed to mankind an art of living. By contrast, modern philosophy appears above all as the construction of a technical jargon reserved for specialists.

To know oneself means, among other things, to know oneself qua non-sage: that is, not as a sophos, but as a philo-sophos, someone on the way toward wisdom.

Narrative is the beginning of recovery.

One of the most serious errors, if not the most serious error, committed by colonial powers in Africa, may have been to ignore or underestimate the cultural strength of African peoples.

I am very honest, even in interviews.

Grandma said [...] when you come on something that is good, first thing to do is share it with whoever you can find; that way, the good spreads out to where no telling it will go.

I never quite know when I'm not writing. Sometimes my wife comes up to me at a party and says, "Dammit, Thurber, stop writing." She usually catches me in the middle of a paragraph.

Husbands and wives generally understand when opposition will be vain.

I have wondered why is it that some people are less affected and torn by the verities of life and death that others.

People who read poetry have heard about the burning bush, but when you write poetry, you sit inside the burning bush.

I think white people like to tell Asian people how they should feel about race because they're too scared to tell black people.

In a world full of people, only some want to fly. Isn't that crazy?