All around the Mediterranean you'll find cultures that believe men can't control themselves and shouldn't have to try.

What do I have to say to the universe? A soul ought to have something to say to the universe if it's going to be immortal.

To me, fantasy has always been the genre of escape, science fiction the genre of ideas. So if you can escape and have a little idea as well, maybe you have some kind of a cross-breed between the two.

Men like to think well of themselves, and poets help them do it.

Nothing limits intelligence more than ignorance; nothing fosters ignorance more than one's own opinions; nothing strengthens opinions more than refusing to look at reality.

I have always lived in a world in which I'm just a spot in history. My life is not the important point. I'm just part of the continuum, and that continuum, to me, is a marvelous thing. The history of life, and the history of the planet, should go on and on and on and on. I cannot conceive of anything in the universe that has more meaning than that.

The practice of diplomacy, I have found, is sometimes like eating soup with a fork: much activity yielding little nourishment.