“How can one deduce the cause of "Hamlet" or "Saint Matthew's Passion"? What is the cause of inspiration? ”

“I find it easier to believe in God than to believe Hamlet was deduced from the molecular structure of a mutton chop.”

“Life can't be all bad when for ten dollars you can buy all the Beethoven sonatas and listen to them for ten years.”

“I won't insult your intelligence by suggesting that you really believe what you just said.”

“Modern formulations are necessary even in defense of very ancient truths. Not because of any alleged anachronism in the old ideas – the Beatitudes remain the essential statements of the Western code – but because the idiom of life is always changing”

“I would sooner be governed by the first two thousand names in the Boston telephone directory than by the two thousand members of the faculty of Harvard.”

“I would rather be governed by the first 2000 people in the Manhattan phone book than the entire faculty of Harvard.”