“My only defense is the acquisition of vocabulary.”

“It has always been my custom to treat words with respect. I can recall the time...when I knew words would be my life's work”

“……, but as I am a scholar I feel obliged to document what it is like here, most of the time, between the dramatic climaxes. In truth it is like this: You cannot imagine how time can be so still. It hangs. It weighs, and yet there is so little of it. It goes so slowly and it is so scarce. If I was writing this scene it would last a full 15 minutes. I would lie here and you would sit there.”

“The attention was flattering. For the first five minutes. Now I know how poems feel.”

“Now is a time for, dare I say it, kindness. I thought being extremely smart would take care of it. But I see I have been found out.”

“My only defense is the acquisition of vocabulary.”