We read the past by the light of the present, and the forms vary as the shadows fall, or as the point of vision alters.

When cats run home and light is come, And dew is cold upon the ground, And the far-off stream is dumb, And the whirring sail goes round, And the whirring sail goes round; Alone and warming his five wits, The white owl in the belfry sits.

Impartial observers from other planets would consider ours an utterly bizarre enclave if it were populated by birds, defined as flying animals, that nevertheless rarely or never actually flew. They would also be perplexed if they encountered in our seas, lakes, rivers, and ponds, creatures defined as swimmers that never did any swimming. But they would be even more surprised to encounter a species defined as a thinking animal if, in fact, the creature very rarely indulged in actual thinking.

Let me think... I wonder if an anvil will drop like an apple?

Vision with action is a daydream; action without vision is a nightmare.

A quotation, like a pun, should come unsought, and then be welcomed only for some propriety of felicity justifying the intrusion.

A good listener is not only popular everywhere, but after a while he knows something. -Wilson Mizner.

I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.

The consciousness of loving and being loved brings a warmth and richness to life that nothing else can bring.

I have realized that the past and future are real illusions, that they exist in the present, which is what there is and all there is.

Rice Krispies happens to be one of my favorite junk foods, just as I regard Michener as superior among junk writers.

The endeavor to understand is the first and only basis of virtue.

Most of us serve our ideals by fits and starts. The person who makes a success of living is one who sees his goal steadily and aims for it unswervingly. That's dedication.

Three acres and a cow.

The more sand that has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the cleare we should see through it. -Jean Paul.

Take things as they are. Punch when you have to punch. Kick when you have to kick.

I find it fascinating that most people plan their vacations with better care than they plan their lives. Perhaps that is because escape is easier than change.

Big results require big ambitions.

. . . there is no perfect knowledge which can be entitled ours, that is innate; none but what has been obtained from experience, or derived in some way from our senses.

Not only is there no God, but try finding a plumber on Sunday.