"No one can possibly say where the historian’s work ceases, and the journalist’s begins. The present is continuously in process of becoming the past: the frontier of history ends only with yesterday’s newspaper. A good journalist casts anxious and inquiring glances over his shoulder, and a good historian lifts his eyes from the page to look at the world around him…. Thucydides was writing not merely a history but an anguished record of contemporary events, in which he had acted and suffered…. Walter Raleigh, in his History of the World, was directing a gigantic and angry editorial to the subjects of James I." Paul Johnson The Offshore Islanders

"The reduction of uncertainty is a matter to which too little attention is paid." Brian Lee Crowley, speaking to the Institute for Liberal Studies "Canadian Property Rights" Conference in Calgary October 17, 2014

"Whacha doin'?" "Getting rich!"

"Really?"

"Yep. I’m writing a self-help book! There’s a huge market for this stuff. First, you convince people there’s something wrong with them. That’s easy because advertising has already conditioned people to feel insecure about their weight, looks, social status, sex appeal, and so on. Next, you convince them that the problem is not their fault and that they’re victims of larger forces. That’s easy, because it’s what people believe anyway. Nobody wants to be responsible for his own situation. Finally, you convince them that with your expert advice and encouragement, they can conquer their problem and be happy!"

"Ingenious. What problem will you help people solve?"

"Their addiction to self-help books! My book is called, 'Shut up and stop whining: How to do something with your life besides think about yourself.'"

"You should probably wait for the advance before you buy anything."

"The trouble is… if my program works, I won’t be able to write a sequel."

Hobbes and Calvin in Calvin and Hobbes June 1993

"[P]atience is a necessary ingredient of genius." Benjamin Disraeli, quoted by Burton Malkiel, A Random Walk Down Wall Street

"Always put the spiritual things first." G.K. Chesterton in "Topsy-Turvy" in Tremendous Trifles, quoted in Gilbert Magazine Vol. 10 #3 (December 2006)

"'Tasteful' does not begin to describe it." Dave Barry in The Ottawa Citizen June 19, 2004 [from my cherished compilation of hidden insults; the specific reference was competitors in the human-powered aircraft "Flugtag" competition in Miami whose contraption intentionally resembled a giant cow giving birth - I am not making that up]

"This is no easy mission. But its difficulty is not our concern; we did not create the mission, and we cannot change it. The word 'mission' derives from the Latin root missus – which means 'sent.' We have been sent – to seek God, study the world, and serve humanity." Fr. John Jenkins re what the university should be in his inaugural address as president of Notre Dame University, quoted by Richard John Neuhaus in First Things December 2005

"Shortly before his death in the 1920s, Mr. [former French Premier Georges] Clemenceau discussed the question of guilt over the [First World] war’s outbreak with a representative of Germany’s Weimar Republic. 'What, in your opinion, will future historians think of this controversial issue?' the representative asked. 'This I do not know,' Mr. Clemenceau replied. 'But I know for certain that they will not say Belgium invaded Germany.'" Letter from David Dear, Edmonton, in Globe & Mail July 23 1996