Russia is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.

What do I think of Western civilization? I think it would be a very good idea.

Putin goes to bed at night knowing he can break all the rules, and the West will follow all the rules.

Politically there were failures. And also on the personal level, there were tremendous failures.

There is good and mediocre writing within every genre.

In the last analysis, even the best man is evil: in the last analysis, even the best woman is bad.

The ‚free-floating intellectual‘ may occupy himself with problems because of their inherent interest and importance, perhaps to little effect.

Where every something, being blent together turns to a wild of nothing.

The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.

Prejudices are what fools use for reason.

For, if a good speaker, never so eloquent, does not see into the fact, and is not speaking the truth of that – is there a more horrid kind of object in creation?

The strength and power of a country depends absolutely on the quantity of good men and women in it.

I was enjoying myself writing, because I don’t know what’s going to happen when I take a ride around that corner. You don’t know at all what you’re going to find there. That can be thrilling when you read a book, especially when you’re a kid and you’re reading stories.

Three can keep a secret, if two of them are dead.

Biography lends to death a new terror.

If you want to find the source of much of the music of modern day Russia, you will find it in the incredible compositions of that crazed lunatic Berlioz.

I know my country has not perfected itself. At times, we’ve struggled to keep the promise of liberty and equality for all of our people. We’ve made our share of mistakes, and there are times when our actions around the world have not lived up to our best intentions.

I love being a part of the country-music community.

Part of the American dream is to live long and die young. Only those Americans who are willing to die for their country are fit to live.

I sleep people. I put people unconscious. I’m stating facts.

I report to you that our country is challenged at home and abroad: that it is our will that is being tried and not our strength; our sense of purpose and not our ability to achieve a better America.

Curiosity killed the cat, but for a while I was a suspect.

Immigration laws are the only laws that are discussed in terms of how to help people who break them.

Wit is the epitaph of an emotion.

Stupidity is a talent for misconception.

I think the materialist conception of history is valid.

A witty saying proves nothing.

In our time political speech and writing are largely the defense of the indefensible.

In writing, I apply my feminine side and respect the mystery involved in creation.

In this country, it doesn’t make any difference where you were born. It doesn’t make any difference who your parents were. It doesn’t make any difference if, like me, you couldn’t even speak English until you were in your twenties.

I have no doubt that Russia will and should remain a major source of energy supplies for Europe and the world.

In doubtful cases the more liberal interpretation must always be preferred.

The only secrets are the secrets that keep themselves.

We have to stop and be humble enough to understand that there is something called mystery.

I have been struck again and again by how important measurement is to improving the human condition.

The Army will take its lessons learned. They’re excellent at looking into themselves and reflecting on what did we do right, what did we do wrong.

History should be written as philosophy.

Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please.

Fame is but the breath of people, and that often unwholesome.

Men seldom, or rather never for a length of time and deliberately, rebel against anything that does not deserve rebelling against.

I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever.

Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood. All is riddle, and the key to a riddle is another riddle.

Prosperous farmers mean more employment, more prosperity for the workers and the business men of every industrial area in the whole country.

Look at situations from all angles, and you will become more open.

In a country with millions of people and cars going everywhere, the enemy is going to get a car bomb out there once in awhile.

I read the book of Job last night, I don’t think God comes out well in it.

I am surprised and embarrassed to be a part of the first American generation to leave the country in far worse shape than it was when we first came into it.

Scientific views end in awe and mystery, lost at the edge in uncertainty, but they appear to be so deep and so impressive that the theory that it is all arranged as a stage for God to watch man’s struggle for good and evil seems inadequate.

We have to do more than just elect a new President if we truly want to change this country.

In every country and every age, the priest had been hostile to Liberty.

Cunning… is but the low mimic of wisdom.

Maybe stories are just data with a soul.

Cobb is a prick. But he sure can hit. God Almighty, that man can hit.

Will minus intellect constitutes vulgarity.

‚My country, right or wrong‘ is a thing no patriot would ever think of saying except in a desperate case. It is like saying ‚My mother, drunk or sober.‘

I seem to smell the stench of appeasement in the air.

‚Mystic River‘ just smelled interesting to me. So I read it and liked it right away. Even the dialogue in it was great.

I guess every single word I’ve ever said is going to be dissected now.

The American temptation is to believe that foreign policy is a subdivision of psychiatry.

Politics I supposed to be the second-oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.

I should like to be able to love my country and still love justice.