"A nation that does not honor its heroes will not long endure."

“The failure to read good books both enfeebles the vision and strengthens our most fatal tendency - the belief that the here and now is all there is.”

Source : Allan Bloom (2008). “Closing of the American Mind”, p.64, Simon and Schuster

“Occasionally, the horrors of life in North Korea do show up in our American satire.”

Source : "The Elephant in The Interview" by Jenny Trout, www.huffingtonpost.com. December 22, 2014.

“Tereza knew what happens during the moment love is born: the woman cannot resist the voice calling forth her terrified soul; the man cannot resist the woman whose soul thus responds to his voice.”

“And so was Luria, whose words now came back to me: ‘A man does not consist of memory alone. He has feeling, will, sensibility, moral being ... It is here ... you may touch him, and see a profound change.’ Memory, mental activity, mind alone, could not hold him; but moral attention and action could hold him completely.”

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do.”

Source : "P.S. I Love You: When Mom Wrote, She Always Saved the Best for Last". Book by H. Jackson Brown, Jr., March 1, 1991.

“Russians understand the rhythm of despair.”

Source : Robert Massie; Suzanne Massie (1975). “Journey”

“The most successful people in life are the ones who ask questions. They're always learning. They're always growing. They're always pushing.”

“Small loans can transform lives, especially the lives of women and children. The poor can become empowered instead of disenfranchised. Homes can be built, jobs can be created, businesses can be launched, and individuals can feel a sense of worth again.”