“I am an exceptional thief, Mrs. McClane. And since I'm moving up to kidnapping, you should be more polite.”

“When Alexander saw the depth of his empire he wept for there were no more worlds to concquer. Benefits of a classical education.”

“I could talk about industrialization and men's fashion all day, but work must intrude.”

“Professors go batty too, perhaps more often than other people, although owing to their profession, their madness is less often remarked. ”

“There are life events that can destroy the personality, which is a lot more fragile than most people imagine, constructed as it is from bits provided by others in the most haphazard way. People can be torn down to the core, "shattered," as the expression goes, and then they seek sleep. And dreams, which provide the ground for the construction of a new and more integrated self. Providing there's a core, and providing they're willing to do the work.”

“You look at us and you see oppression; we see stability and harmony. You see corruption; we see ties of family, friendship, and mutual support. You see feudalism, we see mutual responsibility. You see the oppression of women, we see the defense of modesty.”

“As a matter of fact I had a terribly traumatic childhood. But afterward I sort of reraised myself.”