Philosophy cannot be extinguished, though men will try ... The spirit seeks the light, that is its nature. It wishes to return to its origin, and must forever try to reach enlightenment.

Diplomacy and virtue do not make easy companions.

The evil done by men of goodwill is the worst of all ... We have done terrible things, for the best of reasons, and that makes it worse.

Caius was one of those who gloried in his ignorance, called his lack of letters purity, scorned any subtlety of thought or expression. A man for his time, indeed.

And here was the moment. The end of it all, for civilization was merely another name for friendship, and friendship was coming to an end.

Do you wish to speak in Provençal, French, or Latin? They are all I can manage, I'm afraid.""Any will do, " the rabbi replied in Provençal."Splendid. Latin it is, " said Pope Clement.

Civilization depends on continually making the effort, of never giving in. It needs to be cared for by men of goodwill, protected from the dark.

Pride, anger and hatred are fruits from the same garden that poison the world when ripe. A leader cultivates no such fruits.

Just because you believe something was true in the past does not mean it will be true in the future.

If you are inclined to leave your character solitary for any considerable length of time, better question yourself. Fiction is association, not withdrawal.

Language is the soul of intellect, and reading is the essential process by which that intellect is cultivated beyond the commonplace experiences of everyday life.

Soap opera seems to be a dirty word, but actually they are the most popular shows we have.

I'm somebody who finds adversity is almost as good as encouragement. It's almost like, you close the door, and I'll find ten ways to kick it in and go around it or dig under it or something.

Having the competitive edge to be able to succeed is having control of your time, life and mind.

I think it's important to bring somebody from outside the system, the judicial system, somebody that hasn't been on the bench and, therefore, there's not a lot of opinions for people to look at.

A warrior lives on his wars, whether offensive or defensive. And he suffers a collapse if he finds that his warring capacity is unwanted.

I actually just rock-climbed when I was away on vacation and now I'm searching out rock climbing gyms. That's my new obsession for 2013.