“Had I been present at the Creation, I would have given some useful hints for the better ordering of the universe.” — Alfonso, king of Castile (1221-1284), on studying the Ptolemaic system

“All generalizations are dangerous — even this one.” — Alexandre Dumas

“There are some ideas so wrong that only a very intelligent person could believe in them.” — George Orwell

“Nothing is more exhilarating than to be shot at without result.” — Winston Churchill

“Listening to the Fifth Symphony of Vaughan Williams is like staring at a cow for 45 minutes.” — Aaron Copland

“Three o’clock is always too late or too early for anything you want to do.” — Jean-Paul Sartre

“Who would write, who had any thing better to do?” — Lord Byron

On seeing Niagara Falls, Gustav Mahler exclaimed: “Fortissimo at last!”