Soon the sun will set'- is that prophecy? No, it's merely an assertion of faith in the consistency of events.

One should be embarrassed to speak of God in the third person.

Bless me Father, I ate a lizard.

I'm not so sure he's mad, Father. Just a little devious in his sanity.

....to abuse the intellect for reasons of pride, vanity, or escape from responsibility, is the fruit of that same tree.

But neither infinite power nor infinite wisdom could bestow godhood upon men. For that there would have to be infinite love as well.

Listen, my dear Cors, why don't you forgive God for allowing pain? If He didn't allow it, human courage, bravery, nobility, and self-sacrifice would all be meaningless things.

That's where all of us are standing now, he thought. On the fat kindling of past sins.

When you tire of living, change itself seems evil, does it not? for then any change at all disturbs the deathlike peace of the life-weary.

Because a doubt is not a denial. Doubt is a powerful tool, and it should be applied to history.

Ask for an omen, then stone it when it comes -- de essentia hominum.

The only spiritual soul can obey's the spiritual law.

The day I realized that sunshine doesn't satisfy everyone. It gave me an understanding of true contentment, which will always be found internally.

Dear God, I do not ask for health or wealth. People ask you so often that you can't have any left. Give me, God, what else you have. Give me what no-one else asks for. Amen.

I guess the feminism in "Room" springs to mind most.

I've been married 34 years. I have not been a perfect man. I have made mistakes in my life.

What is the voice of song when the world lacks the ear of taste?

We are in the universe and the universe is in us.

The torments of martyrdom are probably most keenly felt by the bystanders.

Persecution is not wrong because it is cruel; but it is cruel because it is wrong.

The wonderful thing about being a New York Times columnist is that it's like a Supreme Court appointment - they're stuck with you for a long time.