Plato says that the unexamined life is not worth living. But what if the examined life turns out to be a clunker as well?

Be patient. Your future will come to you and lie down at your feet like a dog who knows and loves you no matter what you are.

A lover's a liar, To himself he lies, The truthful are loveless, Like oysters their eyes!

The canary bird in the coal mine theory of the arts: artists should be treasured as alarm systems.

Mark Twain was so good with crowds that he became, in competition with singers and dancers and actors and acrobats, one of the most popular performers of his time. It is so unusual, and so psychologically unlikely, too, for a great writer to be a great performer, too.

Ideas or the lack of them can cause disease.

Pay no attention to Caesar. Caesar doesn't have the slightest idea what's really going on.