With the stones we cast at them, geniuses build new roads with them.

We endeavor to stuff the universe into the gullet of an aphorism.

We mourn the transitory things and fret under the yoke of the immutable ones.

To judge a man's character by only one of its manifestations is like judging the sea by a jugful of its water.

In the spider-web of facts, many a truth is strangled.

Praises for our past triumphs are as feathers to a dead bird.

A man is most accurately judged by how he treats those who are not in a position either to retaliate or to reciprocate.

Man is ready to die for an idea, provided that idea is not quite clear to him.

It is not true that men prefer foolish women. Rather they prefer women who can simulate foolishness whenever necessary, which is the very core of intelligence.

Avarice is fear sheathed in gold.

Reason is the shepherd trying to corral life's vast flock of wild irrationalities.

The chance of the bread falling with the buttered side down is directly proportional to the cost of the carpet.

No sheep may leave the flock, " he said to anyone who would listen, "unless he comes back again.

At the end of your life there will be many people you won't be acquainted with.Make sure you are not among them.

As soon as white folks say a play's good, the theater is jammed with blacks and whites.

You dress to impress," I said approvingly. "No, Angel." He leaned in, his teeth softly grazing my ear. "I undress to impress.

I never do anything out of my comfort zone.

A Negro woman has the same kind of problems as other women, but she can't take the same things for granted.

I think being central to the culture is overrated. Who really gives a damn if something is popular? Jay-Z isn't actually any better than James Joyce even though more people understand him.

All of my sermons become books. I've been accused of having no unpublished thought. I encourage pastors to do that. I think there are so many great sermons that never really get circulation.

Even now I cannot help feeling that it is a mistake to think that the passion one feels in creation is ever really shown in the work one creates.