... commutative algebra is a lot like topology, only backwards.

Any effect, constant, theorem or equation named after Professor X was first discovered by Professor Y , for some value of Y not equal to X.

Why speculate when you can calculate?

When somebody says to me-which they do like every 5 years- "How does it feel to be over the hill?" my response is, "I'm just heading up the mountain."

It's better to work with a nice category containing some nasty objects, than a nasty category containing only nice objects.

Soul-serving requires a heart that beats hard against the ribs. It requires a soul full of the milk of human kindness. This is the sine qua non of success.

So long as we are full of self we are shocked at the faults of others. Let us think often of our own sin, and we shall be lenient to the sins of others.

There are certain bits in my act that will never change.

All spiritual journeys are martyrdoms

FAY: The British police force used to be run by men of integrity. TRUSCOTT: That is a mistake which has been rectified.

Curiosity is an asset mostly frittered away.

Any human being exists only as a member of the wider community of life, air, water, and soil. We have no existence apart from the living earth. We are Earth. What we do to Earth, we do to our self.

If you could stop reflecting, immediately you establish yourself in the ocean of peace.

Life is the art of being well deceived.

Most of the world's work is done by people who don't feel very well.