One can be tired of Rome after three weeks and feel one has exhausted it; after three months one feels that one has not even scratched the surface of Rome; and after six months one wishes never to leave it.

There are no inanimate objects.

The past is a sorry country.

truth ... is the first casualty of tyranny.

To sleep is an act of faith.

I love cloisters, which are the architectural equivalent of a theological concept: perfect freedom within set boundaries.

Belief sometimes precedes understanding; faith sometimes precedes scientific evidence.