“To paraphrase several sages: ‘Nobody can think and hit someone at the same time.’” -Regarding the Pain of Others, 2003

“To be a woman is to be an actress. Being feminine is a kind of theater, with its appropriate costumes, decor, lighting, and stylized gestures.” -“The Double Standard of Aging,” The Saturday Review, September 23, 1972

“Of everything that’s said, one can ask: *why*?… Strictly speaking, nothing that’s *said* is true… Speech can enlighten, relieve, confuse, exalt, infect, antagonize, gratify, grieve, stun, animate… But speech can silence, too.” -“The Aesthetics of Silence,” Styles of Radical Will, 1969

“The truth is always something that is told, not something that is known. If there were no speaking or writing, there would be no truth about anything. There would only be what is.” – The Benefactor, 1963