There are four stages in a marriage. First there's the affair, then the marriage, then children and finally the fourth stage, without which you cannot know a woman, the divorce.

Writing books is the closest men ever come to childbearing.

A modern democracy is a tyranny whose borders are undefined; one discovers how far one can go only by traveling in a straight line until one is stopped.

The function of socialism is to raise suffering to a higher level.

Khomeini has offered us the opportunity to regain our frail religion ... faith in the power of words.

There was that law of life, so cruel and so just, that one must grow or else pay more for remaining the same.

Any war that requires the suspension of reason as a necessity for support is a bad war.

America is a hurricane, and the only people who do not hear the sound are those fortunate if incredibly stupid and smug White Protestants who live in the center, in the serene eye of the big wind.

I was thinking that surgeons had to be the happiest people on earth. To cut people up and get paid for it-that's happiness, I told myself.

Love asks us that we be a little braver than is comfortable, a little more generous, a little more flexible. It means living on the edge more than we care to.

Reaching consensus in a group is often confused with finding the right answer.

In the whole world, Everyone is a creative with their own way and idea.

If there is one eternal truth of politics, it is that there are always a dozen good reasons for doing nothing.

When I get onstage in a play, I feel very safe, very protected, very fulfilled.

They established their patriotic credentials long ago, and are either supportive of the Bush agenda or know when to keep their traps shut.

I'm lucky to have the privilege of being able to choose what I want to do.

All quiet along the Potomac tonight, no sound save the rush of the river, while soft falls the dew on the face of the dead, the picket's off duty forever.

Technological civilizations don't last long. You're all right until you get a printing press. Then a race starts between technology and common sense. And maybe technology always wins.

The young break rules for fun. The old for profit.

Nothing is so important in war as an undivided command.

I've only had good experiences with actors. Starring next to them and directing them, for the most part they're all inspiring, special people.