"“Bed,” as the Italian proverb succinctly puts it, “is the poor man's opera.”"

"An unexciting truth may be eclipsed by a thrilling lie."

"That all men are equal is a proposition to which, at ordinary times, no sane human being has ever given his assent."

"Technological progress has merely provided us with more efficient means for going backwards."

"I hate having to do small talk. I'd rather talk about deep subjects. I'd rather talk about meditation, or the world, or the trees or animals, than small, inane, you know, banter."

"It is a unyielding truth that to speak the truth in a season of deceit is an act of supreme bravery — an essential principle for the reflective life."

"All I'm trying to do is survive and make good out of the dirty, nasty, unbelievable lifestyle that they gave me."

"If your determination is fixed, I do not counsel you to despair. Few things are impossible to diligence and skill. Great works are performed not by strength, but perseverance."