The attempt to regulate, control, and prescribe all manner of conduct and social relations is very old. It was always the practice of primitive peoples.

Don't expect to build up the weak by pulling down the strong.

The nation which forgets its defenders will be itself forgotten.

Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.

Collecting more taxes than is absolutely necessary is legalized robbery.

No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave.

We need more of the Office Desk and less of the Show Window in politics. Let men in office substitute the midnight oil for the limelight.

It takes a great man to be a good listener.

Liberty is not collective, it is personal. All liberty is individual liberty.

Nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent.

You can't increase prosperity by taxing success.

You are much larger than anything you encounter while you sleep. Everything that happens in dream takes place on a small stage in a corner of your mind.

Push my buttons, and I'll push you off a bridge.

I tend to employ braided narrative threads in the lyric, so often echoes (of phrases or images) will occur and will hit my ear so I can shape different resonances and shifts in tone.

The mountains inspire me because they are just still and they have such a strong, quiet presence that feels very old.

I'm not afraid of anyone. I'm not shy about anything. Not even my big nose.

Sometimes there's a disjoint between what works on the page and what works with visual story telling.

Suicide Note: The calm, Cool face of the river Asked me for a kiss. -Langston Hughes

Far better than emasculation would be the bravery of those who use physical force. Far better than cowardice would be meeting one's death fighting.

The moment a man begins to talk about technique that's proof that he is fresh out of ideas.

You start out playing in kitchens, and you end up playing in kitchens.