Too bad for any parent who has become accustomed to ruling by force, because at some point the kids just get too big to slap around.

A hint of - dare I say? - animism has entered into the scientific worldview. The physical world is no longer either dead or passively obedient to the "laws.

That's what "meaning" is—a special additive like salt or garlic that could make even the most fetid piece of meat seem palpable, even delicious.

Why "revere" the unknowable? Why not find out what it is?

If this was mental illness, or even just a particularly clinical case of adolescence, I was bearing up pretty well.

The universe does not reveal itself to undergraduates or fools: This is the entire premise of higher education.

The Ten Commandments, for example, were no more challenging than the Girl Scout oath, and why should anyone be tempted to put one false god ahead of another?

In fact, the idea of a God who is both all-powerful and all good is a logical impossibility.

I understood that no one could have lobbed such a stinging wad of shame out into the world without having a considerable personal reserve of it to draw on.

Massive success the best revenge is.

Gabriel’s green eyes sought Will. “It was demon pox, wasn’t it? You know all about it, don’t you? Aren’t you some sort of expert?”“Well, you needn’t act as if I invented it, ” said Will.

Anyone who is elected mayor of a place called "Sin City" is allowed to be a drunk.

Peace through strength works. We've got the greatest military in the world. I want them to dominate any potential conflict.

If you want freedom you have to come to terms with being okay in the now doing nothing.

The Royal Festival Hall in London is nice; people hang out there. I think this inviting, non-exclusive character is very important.

The essentials of leadership are all about the use of one's talent in the interests of society.

Between history and the novel stands biography, their unwanted offspring, which has brought a great embarrassment to them both.

A good listener: a physical presence that is warm, alert, intelligent - more important than any words.

I think when you are a cool guy but also a hot guy, that makes you even more sexy.