The more elusive and ambiguous a symbol is, the more it gains significance and power.

When men stop believing in God, it isn't that they then believe in nothing: they believe in everything.

If you interact with things in your life, everything is constantly changing. And if nothing changes, you're an idiot.

I believe that what we become depends on what our fathers teach us at odd moments, when they aren't trying to teach us. We are formed by little scraps of wisdom.

Absence is to love as wind is to fire: it extinguishes the little flame, it fans the big.

There are four types: the cretin, the imbecile, the stupid and the mad. Normality is a balanced mixture of all four.

I love the smell of book ink in the morning.

To survive, you must tell stories.

But Italy is not an intellectual country. On the subway in Tokyo everybody reads. In Italy, they don't. Don't evaluate Italy from the fact that it produced Raphael and Michelangelo.

Poetry is not a matter of feelings, it is a matter of language. It is language which creates feelings.

We are formed by little scraps of wisdom.

Honest dishonesty. That’s quite the oxymoron – but I like the originality that you’ve brought to bear in the art of rationalization. Maybe you should consider becoming a lawyer, ” he added jokingly.

Books are my passion, " James told her, "I cannot imagine passing a day without reading.

People who have NO ambition to make a difference in this life should not interrupt the people who DO.

If you can't read, it's going to be hard to realize dreams.

You're either part of the solution or you're part of the problem.

Truth is a hell of a big point with me. Now I exaggerate—always.

I have but one candle of life to burn, and I would rather burn it out in a land filled with darkness than in a land flooded with light.

Retirement can and will be a glorious time in your life. You'll love the freedom and ability to try new things. It's a new phase of life; a chance to be a beginner again.

Nothing of any importance can be taught. It can only be learned, and with blood and sweat.

Slave holding is very unusual among the English-speaking peoples. Canadians didn't do it. Australians didn't do it. The Democratic Party and the states they controlled did it!