“The study of the past is the main portal through which culture is acquired.”

“The English philosopher Michael Oakeshott notes that one of the signs of being cold today is that one knows what one doesn't have to know.”

“The acquisition of culture requires repose, sitting quietly in a room with a book, or alone with one's thoughts even any crowded concert or art museum.”

“Vladimir Nabokov, contemning readers who "identified" with characters in fiction, remarked that the best readers identify with the artist.”

“Conservatives and those on the right are usually willing to settle for thinking themselves correct on political issues; those on the left have always needed to feel not so much that they are correc...”

“[Snobbishness] is the desire for what divides men and the inability to value what unites them.”

“My favorite lecturer was Alan Bean, who flew on Apollo 12 and is one of the twelve guys who walked on the moon. After retiring from NASA, he became a painter. Alan's lecture was called "The Art of ...”

“Focus! (said a voice within me). We are here to craft emotions. To become a better person. Not to waste our serenity on someone who had a poor upbringing and are not taught manners.”

“I make love with a focus and intensity that most people reserve for sleep.”

“Before you become too entranced with gorgeous gadgets and mesmerizing video displays, let me remind you that information is not knowledge, knowledge is not wisdom, and wisdom is not foresight. Each...”

“Technology has not made humanity any wiser, it has only made us more dangerous.”

“We are losing our common vocabulary, built over thousands of years to help and delight and instruct us, for the sake of what we take to be the new technology's virtues. ”