The finest proof of our loyalty toward one another was our monstrous disloyalties towards everyone else.

According to one influential wing of modern secular society there are few more disreputable fates than to end up being 'like everyone else' for 'everyone else' is a category that comprises the mediocre and the conformist, the boring and the suburban. The goal of all right-thinking people should be to mark themselves off from the crowd and 'stand out' in whatever way their talents allow.

You have to be quite heavily invested in someone to do them the honour of telling them you're annoyed with them.

I passionately believe that's it's not just what you say that counts, it's also how you say it - that the success of your argument critically depends on your manner of presenting it.

Don't despair: despair suggests you are in total control and know what is coming. You don't - surrender to events with hope.

The telephone becomes an instrument of torture in the demonic hands of a beloved who doesn't call.

The more dignity is widely and freely available in a society, the less people want to be famous.