The abhorrence of loneliness is as natural as wanting to live at all.

I learned what every dreaming child needs to know, that no horizon is so far you cannot get above it or beyond it.

If a man has any greatness in him, it comes to light, not in one flamboyant hour, but in the ledger of his daily work.

A lovely horse is always an experience.... It is an emotional experience of the kind that is spoiled by words.

A life has to move or it stagnates. Even this life, I think. Every tomorrow ought not to resemble every yesterday.

A word grows to a thought – a thought to an idea – an idea to an act. The change is slow, and the Present is a sluggish traveler loafing in the path Tomorrow wants to take.

A map says to you. Read me carefully, follow me closely, doubt me not... I am the earth in the palm of your hand.

That's what makes death so hard--unsatisfied curiosity

There's an old adage," he said, "translated from the ancient Coptic, that contains all the wisdom of the ages -- "Life is life and fun is fun, but it's all so quiet when the goldfish die.

In Africa people learn to serve each other. They live on credit balances of little favors that they give and may, one day, ask to have returned.

Conformation ... but not much else. Breeding, but too small a heart. You saw it everywhere - in men, in horses, and in women.

It happened. It was awful. You aren't perfect. That's all there is. Don't confuse your grief with guilt.

I had my Aunt Rosie, who was famous and then not, so I got a lesson in fame early on. And I understood how little it has to do with you. And also how you could use it.

To be most effective, flattery is always best applied with a trowel.

I don't write under the ghost of Faulkner. I live in the same town and find his life and work inspiring, but that's it. I have a motorcycle and tool along the country lanes. I travel at my own speed.

I am so happy, each and every day that I come to set. Some days, I'll be there 12 hours, and it feels like five minutes have gone by.

What you mean by 'peace' is nothing more than the endless repetition of human folly.

I don't feel any guilt complex about The Lord of the Rings.

That is what I like; that is what a young man ought to be. Whatever be his pursuits, his eagerness in them should know no moderation, and leave him no sense of fatigue.

Ethiopia did not have the same problem [of corruption]. African leaders looked at us with envy.

When I write, I put one foot in front of the other. It's an act of faith. I just follow my heart.