“There can be no doubt that the average man blames much more than he praises. His instinct is to blame. If he is satisfied he says nothing; if he is not, he most illogically kicks up a row.”

My dear, old age is like an airplane flying in a storm. Once you’re in it there’s nothing you can do. You can’t stop a plane, you can’t stop a storm, you can’t stop time. So you might as well take it easy, with wisdom.

Men who have reached and passed forty-five, have a look as if waiting for the secret of the other world, and as if they were perfectly sure of having found out the secret of this.

You’ll never find a better sparring partner than adversity.

Being seventy is not a sin. It’s not a joy, either.

We say peace and the echo comes back from the other side, war. We dont want wars even when we win.

We don’t thrive on military acts. We do them because we have to, and thank God we are efficient.

Women’s liberation is just a lot of foolishness. It’s men who are discriminated against. They can’t bear children. And no one is likely to do anything about that.

Above all, this country is our own. Nobody has to get up in the morning and worry what his neighbors think of him. Being a Jew is no problem here.

It is always much easier, I have discovered, to make people cry or gasp than to make them think.

I never did anything alone. Whatever was accomplished in this country was accomplished collectively.

Israel itself is the strongest guarantee against another Holocaust.

The public history of modern art is the story of conventional people not knowing what they are dealing with.

Don’t be humble… you’re not that great.

Anybody who believes in something without reservation believes that this thing is right and should be, has the stamina to meet obstacles and overcome them.

The deserts of the Middle East are in need of water, not bombers.

We don’t want wars even when we win.

I can reach people the average person can’t reach because I’m as grounded as I am.

You truly are the average of the 5 people you surround yourself with.

Average people can’t stand with people who are chasing success.

Intelligent individuals learn from every thing and every one; average people, from their experiences. The stupid already have all the answers.

I am only an average man, but by George, I work harder at it than the average man.

If I’m going to be anything more than average, if anyone is going to remember me, then I need to go further, in art, in life, in everything!

All I knew is that I never wanted to be average.

I don’t have any extraordinary gifts. I’m just an average Joe who grew up very poor in rural Alabama.