“We only want that which is given naturally to all peoples of the world, to be masters of our own fate, not of others, and in cooperation and friendship with others.”

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.

From Russia I didn’t bring out a single happy memory, only sad, tragic ones. The nightmare of pogroms, the brutality of Cossacks charging young Socialists, fear, shrieks of terror.

As President Nixon says, presidents can do almost anything, and President Nixon has done many things that nobody would have thought of doing.

Old age is like a plane flying through a storm. Once you’re aboard, there’s nothing you can do.

Show me a sensible person who likes himself or herself! I know myself too well to like what I see. I know but too well that I’m not what I’d like to be.

The modern woman asks herself: Is there something wrong with me if my children don’t fill up my life?

Pessimism is a luxury that a Jew can never allow himself.

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.

I’m a slave to this leaf in a diary that lists what I must do, what I must say, every half hour.

A leader who doesn’t hesitate before he sends his nation into battle is not fit to be a leader.

If only political leaders would allow themselves to feel, as well as to think, the world might be a happier place.

It’s no accident many accuse me of conducting public affairs with my heart instead of my head. Well, what if I do?.. Those who don’t know how to weep with their whole heart don’t know how to laugh either.

The fate of America cannot depend on any one man. The greatness of America is grounded in principles and not on any single personality.

I was totally alive when I wrote this because by coincidence someone just said your name.

Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds.

I believe in the moment of things and fate and things happening for a reason, so I write things down and I trust it.

I’m a legend because I’ve survived over a long period of time and still seem to be master of my fate – I’m still paddling the goddamned boat myself.

One sometimes finds what one is not looking for.

Fate is how your life unfolds when you let fear determine your choices. A path of destiny reveals itself to you, however, when you confront your fear and make conscious choices.

Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.