So many complaints boil down to the belly ache of the fragile, mortal, ignored ego in a vast and indifferent universe.

The problem with clichés is not that they contain false ideas, but rather that they are superficial articulations of very good ones...If...we are obliged to create our own language, it is because there are dimensions to ourselves absent from clichés, which require us to flout etiquette in order to convey with greater accuracy the distinctive timbre of our thought.

The largest part of what we call 'personality' is determined by how we've opted to defend ourselves against anxiety and sadness".

The problem isn't so much finding good ideas (there is no shortage) as embedding the ones we have into everyday practice.

In a secularising world, art has replaced religion as a touchstone of our reverence and devotion.

To look at the paper is to raise a seashell to one's ear and to be overwhelmed by the roar of humanity.

We are tempted to believe that certain achievements and possessions will give us enduring satisfaction. We are invited to imagine ourselves scaling the steep cliff face of happiness in order to reach a wide, high plateau on which we will live out the rest of our lives; we are not reminded that soon after gaining the summit, we will be called down again into fresh lowlands of anxiety and desire.