46 quotes
American writer and screenwriter (born 1945)
“The dead are merely the countrymen of my future.”
"I survive by finding the sweet spot between reason and unreason, between the rational and irrational."
on Critical Thinking
"A fine line separates the weary recluse from the fearful hermit. Finer still is the line between hermit and bitter misanthrope."
on Character
"Virtue is imaginative. Evil, repetitive."
"Loyal companions are an unequaled grace, stanching fear before it bleeds you numb, a reliable antidote for creeping despair."
on Wisdom
"..the most identifying trait of humanity is our ability to be inhumane to one another."
on Human Rights
"My life has a mysterious purpose that I don't understand, and day by day, conflict by conflict, I learn by going where I have to go."
on Life
"There's no tragedy in nature, only process -- and therefore no triumph, either."
on Nature
"...I stood there, inexpressibly grateful that my life, for all its terrors, is so filled with moments of grace."
on Gratitude
"In self-defense and in defense of the innocent, cowardice is the only sin."
on Courage
"Humanity is a parade of fools, and I am at the front of it, twirling a baton."
"...because wonder admits to the existence of mystery, and the recognition of mystery in the world allows the possibility of Truth."
on Truth
"I had not asked to be born. Only to be loved."
on Love
"How obvious can it be? ... The purpose of makeup is to defy the degradations of time, and time is just a synonym for death."
on Death
"Evil travels the world in anonymity, its presence revealed only by the periodic consequences of its desires..."
on Philosophy
"...guilt is deserved only when the effort to resist evil is never made."
on Ethics
"Perseverance is impossible if we don't permit ourselves to hope."
on Hope
"Were you always such a snake," the child asked, "or did you grow into what you are?"
"Unreason is an essential medicine as long as you do not overdose."
on Mental Health
"But the line between moral behavior and narcissistic self-righteousness is thin and difficult to discern"
"Some people like to hear themselves talk, but I like to hear myself silent."
on Self Awareness