Cracks make caves collapse.

If decade after decade the truth cannot be told, each person's mind begins to roam irretrievably. One's fellow countrymen become harder to understand than Martians.

A decline in courage may be the most striking feature that an outside observer notices in the West today.

A decline in courage may be the most striking feature that an outside observer notices in the West today. The Western world has lost its civic courage . . . . Such a decline in courage is particularly noticeable among the ruling and intellectual elite, causing an impression of a loss of courage by the entire society.

When I was young, the early death of my father cast a shadow over me - and I was afraid to die before all my literary plans came true. But between 30 and 40 years of age my attitude to death became quite calm and balanced. I feel it is a natural, but no means the final, milestone of one's existence.

A fish does not campaign against fisheries-it only tries to slip through the mesh.

Human beings yield in many situations, even important and spiritual and central ones, as long as it prolongs one's well-being.