Under attack, sentiments harden into dogma.

Pain narrows consciousness; pleasure blurs it.

When Medusa looks in the mirror, she sees the Lady of Sorrows.

My passions have never jumped out of the fireplace and set fire to the carpet.

Retirement requires the invention of a new hedonism, not a return to the hedonism of youth

The sewing machine joins what the scissors have cut asunder, plus whatever else comes in its path.

Clothes make a statement. Costumes tell a story.

The laughter of the aphorism is sometimes triumphant, but seldom carefree.

'Be faithful to your roots' is the liberal version of 'Stay in your ghetto.'

Every day begins with an act of courage and hope: getting out of bed.

Totem poles and wooden masks no longer suggest tribal villages but fashionable drawing rooms in New York and Paris.

Some saints cannot do menial work while maintaining a saintly attitude because they feel such service is beneath their dignity.

Those philosophers who believe in the absolute logic of truth have never had to discuss it on close terms with a woman.

There is no evidence that government under Republicans will shrink. It's simply a question of what the government will do and who will benefit.

Whenever you're doing two things at once, you're compromising them both.

In youth all doors open outward; in old age all open inward.

The tropical rain forests are a telling example. Once cut down, they rarely recover. Rainfall drops, deserts spread, the climate warms.

What does Christianity mean today? National Socialism is a religion. All we lack is a religious genius capable of uprooting outmoded religious practices and putting new ones in their place.

Sometimes a miracle is a change in material conditions, such as physical healing. At other times, it is a psychological or emotional change.

Once in a while, I have to pinch myself to remind myself I am Nobel laureate, but that is not part of my work plan every day.

To me nothing in the world is as precious as a genuine smile, especially from a child.