Question

"Never, ever decide that you know who someone is, what they did, their objective, context or goal, how they feel or what they know, until you ask them. And not asking means a direct investment in not understanding the truth."

"If a man loves the labour of his trade, apart from any question of success or fame, the gods have called him."

"It is not enough to be busy. So are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?"

"What is in question is a kind of book reviewing which seems to be more and more popular: the loose putting down of opinions as though they were facts, and the treating of facts as though they were opinions."

"He must be very ignorant for he answers every question he is asked."

"The most important question in the world is, 'Why is the child crying?'"

"Why is the world so beautiful? is a question that we all ought to be embracing."

"If you really limit me to one question, it would be: Why is the world the way it is?"

"Art is naturally concerned with man in his existential aspect, not in his scientific aspect. For the scientist, questions about man's stature and significance, suffering and power, are not really scientific questions; consequently he is inclined to regard art as an inferior recreation. Unfortunately, the artist has come to accept the scientist's view of himself. The result, I contend, is that art in the twentieth century — literary art in particular — has ceased to take itself seriously as the primary instrument of existential philosophy. It has ceased to regard itself as an instrument for probing questions of human significance. Art is the science of human destiny. Science is the attempt to discern the order that underlies the chaos of nature; art is the attempt to discern the order that underlies the chaos of man. At its best, it evokes unifying emotions; it makes the reader see the world momentarily as a unity."