Wisdom

Curiosity lights a fire.

Lecturing Brooks was as useful as lecturing a cat.

All you really need to know for the moment is that the universe is a lot more complicated than you might think, even if you start from a position of thinking it's pretty damn complicated in the first place.

We came to save the sacred writings. - Essenes to Eleazar, on collecting the Dead Sea Scrolls from the burning Temple. Jerusalem, 70 CE.

Never spit in a lion's face when you've got your hand in his mouth.

Individuality or Unity? I say there's room for both.

Three essential virtues are patient, loyalty and kindness.

As long as we do violence to other animals, we’ll keep on doing violence to ourselves.

I jealously guard my research time and I love fully immersing myself in those dusty old books and papers. It's one of the most enjoyable parts of my job.

If each of us were to confess his most secret desire the one that inspires all his plans all his actions he would say: 'I want to be praised.'.

I've come to learn, and to establish mine in that same place I come from. Staying in my school place makes me always a student.

It seemed there was always a close correlation between true believers and high body counts.

Doing goodness is good only when you don’t expect anything in return; not a medal, not even a simple thanking!

Qui plussait, plus se tait. French, you know. The more a man knows, the less he talks.

Even a fool when he holdeth his peace is counted wise.

It is a tragicomic fact that our proper upbringing has become an ally of the secret police. (...) The 'Tell the truth!' imperative drummed into us so automatically that we feel ashamed of lying even to a secret policeman.

If my sinfulness appears to me to be in any way smaller or less detestable in comparison with the sins of others, I am still not recognizing my sinfulness at all. ... How can I possibly serve another person in unfeigned humility if I seriously regard his sinfulness as worse than my own?

There is as much dignity in tilling a field as in writing a poem.

Do not misunderstand person by beauty You really do not know its real or Mask on dirty thoughts.

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.