Ninety per cent of the world's woe comes from people not knowing themselves, their abilities, their frailties, and even their real virtues. Most of us go almost all the way through life as complete strangers to ourselves - so how can we know anyone else?

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.

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

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

A loser says that's the way it's always been done. A winner says there ought to be a better way.

The real heretic is not the atheist or agnostic (who are often decent people) but those who murmur "it doesn't matter what you believe, as long as it makes you feel good." This turns religion into a subjective matter, like taste in furnishings, and robs theology of its claim to ultimate truth.

The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.