Nobody can be so amusingly arrogant as a young man who has just discovered an old idea and thinks it is his own.

Ignorance per se is not nearly as dangerous as ignorance of ignorance.

Man's unique agony as a species consists in his perpetual conflict between the desire to stand out and the need to blend in.

Being yourself is not remaining what you were, or being satisfied with what you are. It is the point of departure and far from the goal.

Most people are mirrors, reflecting the moods and emotions of the times; few are windows, bringing light to bear on the dark corners where troubles fester. The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.

Norbert Blei is a writer the way people used to be troubadours and minstrels, celebrating what he has seen and heart and felt in a deceptively simple style reminiscent of the early Sherwood Anderson. . . . Like Anderson, he is a lover, and his affection invests his writing with a singular charm.

When I hear somebody sigh, 'Life is hard,' I am always tempted to ask, 'Compared to what?'