"Nature is not simply a technical or economical resource, and human beings are not mere numbers. To suggest that one can somehow align all the squabbling institutions of science, environmental management, government and diplomacy in an alliance of convenience to regulate the global climate seems to me optimistic."

"Is there any purpose to translating poetry? A poem does not contain information of importance, like a signpost or a warning notice."

"In modern society, where most people live in cities, and where both needs and wishes are absolved through the same remote agency - money - the distinction between wishes and needs has altogether vanished."

"Since the attack on the United States on September 11 2001, and the US retaliation in Afghanistan and Iraq, there must be few people who have not felt a twinge of nostalgia for the cold war."

"For the last third of life there remains only work. It alone is always stimulating, rejuvenating, exciting and satisfying."

"As a remedy to life in society I would suggest the big city. Nowadays, it is the only desert within our means."

"Wisdom principle 17 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 88."

"Serenity begins the moment you cease demanding that the external world conform. Let this simple maxim guide your daily deeds — an essential principle for the reflective life."