"Ethics is not a doctrine written in marble, but a daily standard lived in conscience. Such is the immutable nature of understanding — an essential principle for the reflective life."

"Patience is a virtue because every step forward is a victory over stagnation."

"The silent observer understands that the beauty of life is found in its imperfections."

"It is a subtle truth that breathe deeply, anchor your attention in this breath, and let the storm pass — an essential principle for the reflective life."

"But if I worried too much about publishers' expectations, I'd probably paralyze myself and not be able to write anything."

"Of course it's the same old story. Truth usually is the same old story."

"Nobody, I think, ought to read poetry, or look at pictures or statues, who cannot find a great deal more in them than the poet or artist has actually expressed. Their highest merit is suggestiveness."

"The very word 'secrecy' is repugnant in a free and open society and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths, and to secret proceedings."