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

It should not be Illiers-Combray that we visit: a genuine homage to Proust would be to look at our world through his eyes, not look at his world through our eyes.

Reputation matters so much only because people so seldom think for themselves.

I feel that the great challenge of our time is the communication of ideas.

We are continuously challenged to discover new works of culture—and, in the process, we don’t allow any one of them to assume a weight in our minds.

Let's say you went to Harvard or Oxford or Cambridge, and you said, 'I've come here because I'm in search of morality, guidance and consolation; I want to know how to live,' - they would show you the way to the insane asylum.

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