I'm comfortable being old... being black... being Jewish.

I'm comfortable being old... being black... being Jewish.

A good composer does not imitate; he steals.

A good composer does not imitate; he steals.

Zeal without humanity is like a ship without a rudder, liable to be stranded at any moment.

Zeal without humanity is like a ship without a rudder, liable to be stranded at any moment.

Live every day as if it were your last, because one of these days, it will be.

Live every day as if it were your last, because one of these days, it will be.

If you load responsibility on a man unworthy of it he will always betray himself.

If you load responsibility on a man unworthy of it he will always betray himself.

The reward of suffering is experience.

The reward of suffering is experience.

Trials, temptations, disappointments -- all these are helps instead of hindrances, if one uses them rightly. They not only test read more

Trials, temptations, disappointments -- all these are helps instead of hindrances, if one uses them rightly. They not only test the fiber of character but strengthen it. Every conquering temptation represents a new fund of moral energy. Every trial endured and weathered in the right spirit makes a soul nobler and stronger than it was before.

Every individual has a place to fill in the world, and is important, in some respect, whether he chooses to read more

Every individual has a place to fill in the world, and is important, in some respect, whether he chooses to be so or not.

Mishaps are like knives, that either serve us or cut us, as we grasp them by the blade or by read more

Mishaps are like knives, that either serve us or cut us, as we grasp them by the blade or by the handle.