Language is the main instrument of man's refusal to accept the world as it is.

Men are accomplices to that which leaves them indifferent.

Every one of my opponents, every one of my critics, will tell you that I am a generalist spread far too thin in an age when this is not done anymore, when responsible knowledge is specialized knowledge.

Books - the best antidote against the marsh-gas of boredom and vacuity

Every language is a world. Without translation, we would inhabit parishes bordering on silence.

Fischer does not merely outplay opponents; he leaves them bodily and mentally glutted. Fisher himself speaks of the exultant instant in which he feels the 'ego of the other player crumbling.'

I have students who are now in chairs in five continents. They invite me to their inaugurals. A tremendous reward.