I have told my sons that they are not under any circumstances to take part in massacres, and that the news of massacres of enemies is not to fill them with satisfaction or glee. I have also told them not to work for companies which make massacre machinery, and to express contempt for people who think we need machinery like that.

Socialism is, in fact, a form of Christianity, people wishing to imitate Christ.

There are plenty of good reasons for fighting, I said, but no good reason ever to hate without reservation, to imagine that God Almighty Himself hates with you, too.

A nice thing about war-not that anything about war is nice, I guess-is that while it's going on and you're in it, you never worry about doing the right thing.

There's only one me, and I'm stuck with him.

Educate yourself, welcome life's messiness, read Chekhov, avoid becoming an architect at all costs.

Big, undreamed-of things — the people on the edge see them first.