Saul Bellow

"We are always looking for the extraordinary in the ordinary."

"A man who has fallen under the spell of his own words is in great danger."

"The degree to which a person is able to be genuine is the degree to which he is able to be happy."

"Money makes you free, but not in the way you think."

"The more you own, the more it owns you."

"We are dying from civilization and its discontents."

"I want to lay down a truth: there is no point in doing anything if you're not going to do it fully."

"Bewilderment is the only honest response to life."

"Civilization is the struggle against our instincts."

"Love is like a great work of art that has to be constantly recreated."

"The human form is weak, but the human spirit is strong."

"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."

"We are the first generation to see our children live in a world we don't understand."

"Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad."

"Success is only a matter of luck, ask any failure."

"The modern soul is a creature of mixed impulses and intentions."

"Every man has his own destiny—the only imperative is to follow it."

"To accept reality and to live without hoping against hope is a rare virtue."

"The only real treasure is in human beings, their words, their thoughts."

"You cannot be an artist and see things as they are."

"In a life filled with objects and activities, we lose touch with the essential."

"Memory is the basis of all consciousness."

"The appetite for destruction is sometimes stronger than the appetite for creation."

"Imagination is the first step in the creation of anything."

"Wisdom consists of knowing when to stop."

"We are bound to lose everything; it's part of the deal."

"The deeper you go into anything, the deeper you see the mysteries."

"A person who can't pay attention to small things will fail at large ones."

"The human condition is one of fundamental uncertainty."

"What does an American really want? Happiness and a car."