People who bite the hand that feeds them usually lick the boot that kicks them.

It is a juvenile notion that a society needs a lofty purpose and a shining vision to achieve much. Both in the market place and on the battlefield men who set their hearts on toys have often displayed unequal initiative and drive. And one must be ignorant of the creative process to look for a close correspondence between motive and achievement in the world of thought and imagination.

Unlimited opportunities can be as potent a cause of frustration as a paucity or lack of opportunities.

When we believe ourselves in possession of the only truth, we are likely to be indifferent to common everyday truths.

Language was invented to ask questions. Answers may be given by grunts and gestures, but questions must be spoken. Humanness came of age when man asked the first question. Social stagnation results not from a lack of answers but from the absence of the impulse to ask questions.

How frighteningly few are the persons whose death would spoil our appetite and make the world seem empty.

It is a sign of creeping inner death when we can no longer praise the living.