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.

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

It may be important to write a book that doesn't come up to what I would like to have rather than to write no book at all.

The only people who have the long view are some scientists and some science fiction writers.

I tell you, lad, that men will believe is one says, "The Gods say..." They will believe if one says, "I had a Vision..." They will believe if one says, "It was told me on a tablet of hidden gold..." But, if one says, "History teaches," then they will not believe.

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.