Mythology is like gravity, inconvenient at times, but necessary for cohesion.

If history is really relevant in today's world, the proposition doesn't command much respect. Perhaps the past is a different country, but if so no one much wants to travel there.

it is through the ghost [writer] that the great gift of knowledge which the inarticulate have for the world can be made available.

we expect definitions to tell us not only what is, but what to do about it; to show us how the world fits together and how its different parts connect and work. ... A label is the first step toward action.

Love between women is seen as a paradigm of love between equals, and that is perhaps its greatest attraction.

Growing up human is uniquely a matter of social relations rather than biology. What we learn from connections within the family takes the place of instincts that program the behavior of animals; which raises the question, how good are these connections?

The maxims for success laid out by the powerful are never much good as guides for those who aren't powerful.