A writer is a strange instrument of our species, a harp of sorts, fine-tuned to the dark contradictions of life.

Oh, it makes a difference, I thought. And if it doesn't make a difference you will make it make a difference.

Seeds must be sown everywhere. Only some will bear fruit. But there would not be the fruit from the few had the many not been sown

Each generation thinks it fights new battles. But the battles are the same. Only the people are different.

It's always easier to learn something than to use what you've learned. . . . You're alone when you're learning. But you always use it on other people. It's different when there are other people involved.

As a species we are always hungry for new knowledge.

Every man who has shown the world the way to beauty, to true culture, has been a rebel, a 'universal' without patriotism, without home, who has found his people everywhere.