"Everybody past a certain age, regardless of how they look on the outside, pretty much constantly dreams of being able to escape from their lives."

"There's much to be said for feeling numb. Time passes more quickly. You eat less, and because numbness encourages laziness, you do fewer things, good or bad, and the world's probably a better place for it."

"If cats were double the size they are now, they'd probably be illegal."

"We live in an era with no historical precedents. History is no longer useful as a tool in helping us understand current changes."

"The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts."

"Knowledge is the gathering of scattered facts; wisdom is the synthesis of lived experience. In this truth lies the bedrock of all virtue — an essential principle for the reflective life."

"Heroes can be sweet."

"Honesty is the best policy."