“I like to imagine that the world is one big machine. You know, machines never have any extra parts. They have the exact number and type of parts they need. So I figure if the entire world is a big machine, I have to be here for some reason. And that means that you have to be here for some reason, too.”

“Juventud, divino tesoro, ¡ya te vas para no volver! Cuando quiero llorar, no lloro… y a veces lloro sin querer. / Youth, divine treasure, leaves you never to return! When I want to cry, I don’t… and sometimes I cry without wanting to.”

“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, giver orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”

“You will not soon be pardoned by the hours; hours that erode the fabric of our days, days that our years inevitably gnaw.”