But democracy isn't a state of perfection. It has to be improved, and that means constant vigilance.

I prefer insomnia to anaesthesia.

I vividly remember the stories my grandfather told me about the carnage of the First World War, which people tend to forget was one of the worst massacres in human history.

It's the job of intellectuals and writers to cast doubt on perfection.

I live quietly at home among my family and friends.

People with lots of doubts sometimes find life more oppressive and exhausting than others, but they're more energetic - they aren't robots.

But I don't think I have any particular talent for prediction, because when you have three or four elements in hand, you don't have to be a genius to reach certain conclusions.

There are some fundamental values it's impossible to be wrong about.

Eco sees the intellectual as an organizer of culture, someone who can run a magazine or a museum. An administrator, in fact. I think this is a melancholy situation for an intellectual.

Perfection spawns doctrines, dictators and totalitarian ideas.

I don't want to promote my own image either. I don't like going on television or mixing in literary circles.

Expect nothing

I want to feel you up like we're sixteen in the backseat of a car. On the outside of your clothes, " he said just above a whisper. "Touch you all over, then slide my hands up under your shirt.

If you assume that the new - and simply because it's new - is always to be better than the old, chances are you've never known anything valuable.

You have to remind kids to stay connected to the meaning of Christmas. Sometimes it takes a little bit of effort, but it's so worth it.

I like being on the margins. You work better there.

I'm not going to stop going to the supermarket just because the paparazzi follow me. I love to cook and a cook needs her ingredients!

I just got the will to win at life.

I love you, Ella May and nothing will ever change that. You can push me away -run away – and I will still love you.

I don't believe in natural science.

I have no enemies. But my friends don't like me.