The past was only my cradle, and now it cannot hold me, because I am grown too big.

The apex of my civic pride and personal contentment was reached on the bright September morning when I entered the public school.

On a royal birthday every house must fly a flag, or the owner would be dragged to a police station and be fined twenty-five rubles.

The first meal was an object lesson of much variety. My father produced several kinds of food, ready to eat, without any cooking, from little tin cans that had printing all over them.

It is not that I belong to the past, but the past that belongs to me.

Our mothers are racked with the pains of our physical birth; we ourselves suffer the longer pains of our spiritual growth.

You heard on all sides that the brightest Jewish children were turned down if the examining officers did not like the turn of their noses.

Such creatures of accident are we, liable to a thousand deaths before we are born. But once we are here, we may create our own world, if we choose.

I have so little mastered the art of tranquil living that wherever I go I trail storm clouds of drama around me.

What we get in steerage is not the refuse, but the sinew and bone of all the nations.

You went up to be examined with the other Jewish children, your heart heavy about that matter of your nose.

I find that writing is as magical as the genre I write in. When the story comes alive and takes over, it's truly a journey to another world.

The pen is mightier than the sword, for by the sword are mortal battles waged, but by the pen entire cultures swayed, eternal societies arrayed, and souls of men saved.

Make it your habit not to be critical about small things.

I do not talk to the FBI directors about pending investigations [on Hillary Clinton].

I'd go to hell to hear a good band.

There'll be no sense in sexual theories until women start telling their minds; and, of course, until they have some.

I don't care about the brand. I care about the country.

I believe, the Japanese film industry must be open.

I wake up from dreams and go, 'Wow, put this down on paper'. The whole thing is strange. You hear the words, everything is right there in front of your face.

The perfect way is only difficult for those who pick and choose. Do not like, do not dislike; all will then be clear.