By journalist Sydney J. Harris (and thanks to the pointer from Jeff, who loves to collect and distribute interesting readings):

It’s odd, and a little unsettling, to reflect upon the fact that English is the only major language in which “I” is capitalized; in many other languages “You” is capitalized and the “i” is lower case.

The primary purpose of a liberal education is to make one’s mind a pleasant place in which to spend one’s leisure.

Most people are mirrors, reflecting the moods and emotions of the times; few are windows, bringing light to bear on the dark corners where troubles fester. The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.

Once we assuage our conscience by calling something a “necessary evil,” it begins to look more and more necessary and less and less evil.

We have not passed that subtle line between childhood and adulthood until we move from the passive voice to the active voice–that is, until we stop saying “It got lost,” and say “I lost it.”