It has been said that figures rule the world; maybe. I am quite sure that it is figures which show us whether it is being ruled well or badly. – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1830, translated

The real hero is always a hero by mistake; he dreams of being an honest coward like everybody else. – Umberto Eco, Travels in Hyper Reality, 1986

Three passions, simple but overwhelming, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind. – Bertrand Russell, Autobiography, 1967

Before we set our hearts too much upon anything, let us examine how happy they are, who already possess it. РFran̤ois VI de la Rochefoucault