"In a spiritually sensitive culture, then, it might well be that age is something to be admired or envied"

"Weak minds sink under prosperity as well as adversity; but strong and deep ones have two high tides"

"Never trust a man who speaks well of everybody"

"A house is not a home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body"

"The League is very well when sparrows shout, but no good at all when eagles fall out"

"If you want to eat well in England, eat three breakfasts"

"Culture is a way of coping with the world by defining it in detail"

"My best friend is the man who in wishing me well wishes it for my sake"

"One has children in the expectation of dying before them. In fact, you want to make damn sure you die before them, just as you plant a tree or build a house knowing, hoping that it will outlive you. That's how the human species has done as well as it has"

"If you want a thing done well, do it yourself"

"We have our own history, our own language, our own culture. But our destiny is also tied up with the destinies of other people - history has made us all South Africans"