"Wealth, like happiness, is never attained when sought after directly. It comes as a by-product of providing a useful service."

“I don't have a lot of respect for talent. Talent is genetic. It's what you do with it that counts.”

Source : Martin Ritt, Gabriel Miller (2003). “Martin Ritt: Interviews”, p.204, Univ. Press of Mississippi

“In more than 20 years I've spent studying the issue, I have yet to hear a convincing argument that college football has anything do with what is presumably the primary purpose of higher education: academics.”

“Man is a competitive creature, and the seeds of conflict are built deep into our genes. We fought each other on the savannah and only survived against great odds by organising ourselves into groups which would have had a common purpose, giving morale and fortitude.”

Source : "Philip Roth was wrong" by Robert Winston, www.theguardian.com. December 16, 2005.

“The most powerful soporific is sleep itself.”

“O Lord... Once I wanted You so much I didn't even dare walk past Your house- And now I am not even worthy to be let in”

“I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”

Source : Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, Oslo, Norway, 11 Dec. 1986

“And it comes from saying no to 1,000 things to make sure we don't get on the wrong track or try to do too much. We're always thinking about new markets we could enter, but it's only by saying no that you can concentrate on the things that are really important.”

“Humanism inspires a lot of enthusiasm for everyday life and urges people to be better to one another, to work towards a better future and a common good. If I believed there was an afterlife I would have so much less motive for filling this life with every experience that is offered up to me.”