Glorious as it had been, the city-state was obsolete.

As in Athens, the right to participate was restricted to men, just as it was also in all later democracies and republics until the twentieth century.

Democracy, it appears, is a bit chancy. But its chances also depend on what we do ourselves.

Require... electoral votes to be allocated in proportion to the popular votes.

The future of that ancient chamber remains in considerable doubt.

Most of us readily take things for granted that at an earlier time remained to be discovered.

Glorious as it had been, the city-state was obsolete.

Ironically, the very fact that democracy has such a lengthy history has actually contributed to confusion and disagreement, for 'democracy' has meant different things to different people at different times and places.

The zenith of elegance in any woman's wardrobe is the little black dress, the power of which suggests dash and refinement.

I hope one day I will host my own charity event to give back to society.

We travel a lot from Australia and deliberately route ourselves through the U.A.E. because my whole family loves the place.

Mind is the great lever of all things; human thought is the process by which human ends are ultimately answered.

Writing poems is a chance to construct spaces that I want to imaginatively inhabit.

Do an evening review at the end of the day to reflect on what went well, and what you’d do differently next time.

I'll tell ya, I'm a genuinely nice guy. I really am. A real nice guy. But I think I'm temperamental.

I'd love to be in a period drama, though my dream role is to be in a film with Ray Winstone and Tom Hardy.

I was a very poor young black boy in New Orleans, just a face without a name, swimming in a sea of poverty trying to survive.

A large part of crime is economics - if people are working and and have a home and family to support, then I believe you can reduce the crime rate.

I think people need to see Prince live to really understand how remarkable he is. He has always been inspiring because he is never afraid to break rules or barriers or invent something new - and if you love fashion, then you need to be able to do that.

It was extraordinary 'cause I was 17 years old when I first danced with Edward Villella. And we were both young. But I had seen him dance, and he was already a star. So he was just so gentle and wonderful and kind, and we had a great rapport together. He was one of the most exciting dancers of our day.

You have to allow a certain amount of time in which you are doing nothing in order to have things occur to you, to let your mind think.

Kurosawa is my hero, and I've taught courses on his films, and I love what he does, and 'Rashomon' is, I think, his second greatest film after 'Ikiru.'

If country life be healthful to the body it is no less so to the mind.

Cyndi Lauper is really good at talking to you about normal things. It's strange to be in the presence of a big celebrity like that. You want to make these connections and say things related to being a fan. It's not as interesting for them. She's amazing at making small talk without it seeming small.

But you take a four-year state college, with a broader range of admission, and what happens during those four years may be an even greater value-added educational experience. I don't know.

I hate wearing trousers and shoes. I wear jeans and sneakers most of the time.

Sport is my passion but I have a way to go.

Success is a completely abstract thing - it has no bearing on daily life, family matters, the matter of artistic creation, but it can affect grace, and if I lose that, I really have gained nothing from success.

The everybody-loves-Jeff Bridges home base is, of course, 'The Big Lebowski.'

My mother was the center of the family.

Most of the time you spend filming a show is time you spend without the cameras on, when you're not acting.

If I see what you're up to on Facebook but I don't see your updates on Flickr, I'll still care about Facebook.