We are continuous with all the particles of our physical being, as in our breathing we are continuous with the sky. Between our bodies and the world there is unity and commerce.

I write not to record what I think but to discover what I think

All the things we achieve are things we have first of all imagined.

I might grow old in Brisbane, but I would never grow up.

Silence is a form of communication. Speech divides us.

We’re such contrary creatures

Words his soul danced to.

What else is death but the refusal any longer to grow and suffer change?

With all those prizes the most interesting thing is getting on to the shortlist, because that tells you who people see as your peers.

Words are powerful. They too can be the agents of what is new, of what is conceivable and can be thought and let loose upon the world.

So these things happen, deep in our lives. We do not speak of them. We hide them even from ourselves, but they do not leave us.

In this world, it's not enough to have a fine education. You need a piece of paper to prove you got it.

Experience taught me that when pride wins... we all lose.

I used to think that driving, sleepless, ambitious labor was what you needed to succeed.

In most cases, people, even wicked people, are far more naive and simple-hearted than one generally assumes. And so are we.

Hatred like love feeds on the merest trifles.

Afflictions tend to wean us from the world - and to fix our affections on things above.

The truth is that I am not a frump... I just enjoy being laid back.

He who sounds his own trumpet will soon find plenty to laugh at him.

I think any time you deal with humans and the way they exploit one another and cause pain you are in the realm of politics, on some level.

The more they made noise, the more calm I became.