Uncle Scrooge preferred to let the poor die "and decrease the surplus population." Scrooge may not have had God on his side, but his arithmetic was impeccable.

Children love to be alone because alone is where they know themselves, and where they dream.

The problem with death is absence

The God worth worshipping is the one who pays us the compliment of self - regulation, and we might return it by minding our own business.

A library should be like a pair of open arms.

Slum kids die slowly, their lives eroded at so languid a pace that even they would have trouble tracing the disintegration. To the children of war death explodes like a car bomb.

If you need three adjectives to describe something, then you've probably chosen the wrong something.

The only reason I wanted 'Making Toast' as the title is that it is a simple gesture of moving on. Every morning there's the bread and you make the toast and you start the day.

Friends are lights in winter; the older the friend, the brighter the light.

The belief in potential human virtue underlies the whole idea of the Bill of Rights; the document is a very tough guardian of that belief.

Only by moving in the direction you least trust can you be saved

How many miles to Babylon?Three score and ten!Can I get there by candle light?Yes, and back again!

Bravery is measured by how hard you try, not by whether you actually succeed.

Grown-up love means actually understanding what you love, taking the good with the bad and helping your loved one grow. Love takes attention and work and is the best thing in the world.

It's interesting when you're part of a group - the Jews, to be exact - that the world has had such problems with.

For many students, school is an obligation, not a joy and a privilege. This means you need to ‘sell’ the learning to them.

The world, as a rule, does not live on beaches and in country clubs.

So much better to travel than to arrive.

True bravery is being exactly who you are, imperfections included. Vulnerability is the most precious gift you can give.

War is not women's history.

For most people, art is only valuable if other people say it is; and artists are only worthwhile if they are either rich and famous, or dead.