We talk of the enormous virtues of work, but it turns out that that is mostly for the poor. If you're rich enough or if you're a college professor, the virtue lies in leisure and the use you make of your leisure time.

One of the little-celebrated powers of Presidents (and other high government officials) is to listen to their critics with just enough sympathy to ensure their silence.

When you see reference to a new paradigm you should always, under all circumstances, take cover.

Modesty is a vastly overrated virtue.

A more important antidote to American democracy is American gerontocracy. The positions of eminence and authority in Congress are allotted in accordance with length of service, regardless of quality.

It is a far, far better thing to have a firm anchor in nonsense than to put out on the troubled seas of thought.

No ethic is as ethical as the work ethic.