“What is sometimes thought to be clever is, significantly often, merely an advanced form of foolishness.”

“History is not usually what has happened. History is what some people have thought to be significant.”

“Exaggeration is a standard peculiarity of man. To deprecate is often a form of exaggeration which people do not notice, because it appears to be its opposite.”

“Please, not again what you studied, how long you spent at it, how many books you wrote, what people thought of you - but: what did you learn?”

“It is not 'Have I got a chance?' It is more often: 'Have I seen my chance?”

“Sometimes a pessimist is only an optimist with extra information.”

“It is not always a question of the Emperor having no clothes on. Sometimes it is, 'Is that an Emperor at all?”