I feel that the great challenge of our time is the communication of ideas..

The lesson? To respond to the unexpected and hurtful behavior of others with something more than a wipe of the glasses, to see it as a chance to expa….

An argument in a couple: 2 people attempting to introduce each other to important truths - by panicked shouting..

A virtuous, ordinary life, striving for wisdom but never far from folly, is achievement enough..

Reputation matters so much only because people so seldom think for themselves..

Newspapers are being read all around. The point is not, of course, to glean new information, but rather to coax the mind out of its sleep-induced int….

Our homes do not have to offer us permanent occupancy or store our clothes to merit the name. To speak of home in relation to a building is simply to….

The pre-scientific age, whatever its deficiencies, had at least offered its members the peace of mind that follows from knowing all man-made achievem….

Bitterness: anger that forgot where it came from..

What I want to argue for is not that we should give up on our ideas of success, but that we should make sure that they are our own. We should focus i….

We should not feel embarrassed by our difficulties, only by our failure to grow anything beautiful from them..

Forcing people to eat together is an effective way to promote tolerance..

A simple problem of arithmetic: there are far more ambitions than there are grand destinies available..

Booksellers are the most valuable destination for the lonely, given the numbers of books that were written because authors couldn't find anyone to ta….

The mind may be reluctant to think properly when thinking is all it is supposed to do; the task can be as paralysing as having to tell a joke or mimi….

Our jobs make relentless calls on a narrow band of our faculties, reducing our chances of achieving rounded personalities and leaving us to suspect (….

We need a home in the psychological sense as much as we need one in the physical: to compensate for a vulnerability. We need a refuge to shore up our….

Taking photographs can assuage the itch for possession sparked by the beauty of a place; our anxiety over losing a precious scene can decline with ev….

Most of us stand poised at the edge of brilliance, haunted by the knowledge of our proximity, yet still demonstrably on the wrong side of the line, o….

My writing always came out of a very personal place, out of an attempt to stay sane..

I am in general a very pessimistic person with an optimistic, day to day take on things. The bare facts of life are utterly terrifying. And yet, one ….