As they marched, the crowds lining the route broke into applause, a sweet and deeply felt spontaneous pattering that was a sort of communal embrace. Welcome home.

Would it be anything like a literary disaster if Gore Vidal were to fall silent? Easy. No. In fact, there is something to be said for the idea.

The Church became both more accessible and less imposing. It threw itself open to risk.

Human ingenuity has given centuries to the goal of ensuring that the human body might move around at an even 68 degrees all year.

As American productivity, once the exuberant engine of national wealth, has dipped to an embarrassingly uncompetitive low, Americans have shaken their heads: the country's old work ethic is dead.

Never try to wear a hat that has more character than you do.

Leaders make things possible. Exceptional leaders make them inevitable.