The need itself is not the call.

Books connect us readers to what we cannot see but imagine, an intangible sort of wonder and magic.

Imagination is manifest of thoughts by divine force.

Patience is the highest asceticism.

Praise when merited is not a boon: yet to a generous nature, is it pleasant to utter it.

General Taylor is, I have no doubt, a well-meaning old man. He is, however, uneducated, exceedingly ignorant of public affairs, and I should judge, of very ordinary capacity.

It's always sad if anybody you know has a personal problem.

There's a ton of good art and music and writing out there offline among a ton of trash, and the same goes with what's online.

We can't afford to be killing one another.

The frontal cortex is an incredibly interesting part of the brain - ours is proportionately bigger and/or more complex than in any other species.

The national debate on health-care reform wildly misses the mark, with Democrats and Republicans alike arguing about who's going to pay rather than about what would actually make people healthy.