Reading the morning newspaper is the realist's morning prayer.

We learn from history that we do not learn from history

To be independent of public opinion is the first formal condition of achieving anything great.

Truth is found neither in the thesis nor the antithesis, but in an emergent synthesis which reconciles the two.

Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion.

Genuine tragedies in the world are not conflicts between right and wrong. They are conflicts between two rights.

What history teaches us is that neither nations nor governments ever learn anything from it.

I have the courage to be mistaken.

All education is the art of making men ethical (sittlich), of transforming the old Adam into the new Adam.

To be aware of limitations is already to be beyond them.

Africa has no history and did not contribute to anything that mankind enjoyed.

Conducting, I tried it once off the cuff, and quickly realized there were subtle aspects that I was missing. There is a lot more to it that I was able to grasp simply by watching conductors.

The concept of happiness has to be reorganised.

That's why I love doing live theater more than anything: You get an immediate reaction, whether it's good or bad.

Any system of government will work when everything is going well. It's the system that functions in the pinches that survive

She press'd his hand in slumber; so once more He could not help but kiss her and adore.

I like to talk about weirdness. We all have strange thoughts and ideas, and when you really trust someone you can express them. And they can express them to you, and that's one of the joys of life.

My current works are abstracts cunningly disguised as landscapes. It is the Canadian way.

Sexuality is a very private thing, 'Provocateur' will make it public

The women of the country have the power in their own hands, in spite of the law and the government being altogether of the male order.

Be grateful for what you have and stop complaining - it bores everybody else, does you no good and doesn't solve any problems!