Contrary to the claims of some of my critics and some of the editorial pages, I am an ardent believer in the free market.

The fellow that can only see a week ahead is always the popular fellow, for he is looking with the crowd. But the one that can see years ahead, he has a telescope but he can’t make anybody believe that he has it.

My father probably thought the capital of the world was wherever he was at the time. It couldn’t possibly be anyplace else. Where he and his wife were in their own home, that, for them, was the capital of the world.

Man only likes to count his troubles, but he does not count his joys.

There is no such thing on earth as an uninteresting subject; the only thing that can exist is an uninterested person.

It is better to be beautiful than to be good. But… it is better to be good than to be ugly.

Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see.

See things from the boy’s point of view.

It is not length of life, but depth of life.

When any calamity has been suffered the first thing to be remembered is, how much has been escaped.

The sky is the daily bread of the eyes.

The worst men often give the best advice.

I live halfway between reality and theater at all times. And I was born this way.

I’m never a reliable narrator, unbiased or objective.

Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen.

To be a real philosopher all that is necessary is to hate some one else’s type of thinking.

In praise there is more obtrusiveness than in blame.

I’m not confused. I’m just well mixed.

Every person takes the limits of their own field of vision for the limits of the world.

Our real blessings often appear to us in the shape of pains, losses and disappointments; but let us have patience and we soon shall see them in their proper figures.

Thieves respect property. They merely wish the property to become their property that they may more perfectly respect it.

Being ‚contented‘ ought to mean in English, as it does in French, being pleased. Being content with an attic ought not to mean being unable to move from it and resigned to living in it; it ought to mean appreciating all there is in such a position.

I see the world in black and white, and I don’t like compromising.

For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.

My age is very insignificant to me. I don’t think about it, but the world does. The world likes young people in general.

Things ain’t what they used to be and never were.

I have been influenced in my thinking by both west and east.

In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they’re still beautiful.

A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.

A lot of people don’t like the road, but it’s as natural to me as breathing.

It’s a funny old world.

The universe is wider than our views of it.

It is a terrible thing to see and have no vision.

So vast is art, so narrow human wit.

I don’t think culture is something you can describe.

North Americans don’t understand… that our country is not just Cuba; our country is also humanity.

I think any life can be interesting, any surroundings can be interesting. I don’t think I could have been so brave if I had been living in a town, competing with people on what can be called a generally higher cultural level.

I would rather be able to appreciate things I can not have than to have things I am not able to appreciate.

Keep in mind that no matter how perfectly you get your life in order, you will never be rid of all your problems. Problems are a way of life, always have been, always will be. But how you elect to view those problems is all up to you.

I have an expression I use as I’ve gone around the world through my career: ‚You never tell another man or woman what’s in their interest. They know their interest better than you know their interest.‘

As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters.

We do not know what is really good or bad fortune.

You can become blind by seeing each day as a similar one. Each day is a different one, each day brings a miracle of its own. It’s just a matter of paying attention to this miracle.

A man should always consider how much he has more than he wants.

But O, how bitter a thing it is to look into happiness through another man’s eyes.

Instead of comparing our lot with that of those who are more fortunate than we are, we should compare it with the lot of the great majority of our fellow men. It then appears that we are among the privileged.

The basic fact about human existence is not that it is a tragedy, but that it is a bore. It is not so much a war as an endless standing in line.

I’ve got a feeling that music might not be the most interesting place to be in the world of things.

While victimhood in America is exalted, I don’t think our veterans should join those ranks.

We all live with the objective of being happy; our lives are all different and yet the same.

I have written too much history to have faith in it; and if anyone thinks I’m wrong, I am inclined to agree with him.

I was brought up differently than the average American child because the average child is brought up expecting to be happy.

No finite point has meaning without an infinite reference point.

The person who has lived the most is not the one with the most years but the one with the richest experiences.

Everything is funny, as long as it’s happening to somebody else.

Movies are fun, but they are no cure for cancer.

People have been fed this diet of pabulum, rights, and impulsive freedom. There’s just an absolute starvation for the other side of the story.

There are worse things in life than death. Have you ever spent an evening with an insurance salesman?

Our life is what our thoughts make it.

Death does not concern us, because as long as we exist, death is not here. And when it does come, we no longer exist.

There is a very fine line between loving life and being greedy for it.