The English reputation for humour is a way by which people avoid revealing themselves and have superficial relationships, so that you can engage in banter without making yourself vulnerable.

The violent have been victorious for most of history because they kindled the fear with which everyone is born.

The French have made conversation their claim to civilisation.

The kind of conversation I like is one in which you are prepared to emerge a slightly different person.

The institution of marriage, if you look at it over many centuries, has come and gone.

Two individuals, conversing honestly, can be inspired by the feeling that they are engaged in a joint enterprise, aiming at inventing an art which has not been tried before.

Each person is an enigma. You're a puzzle not only to yourself but also to everyone else, and the great mystery of our time is how we penetrate this puzzle.