「One of the hardest thing for boys to learn is that a teacher is human. One of the hardest things for a teacher to learn is not to try and tell them.」「The best moments in reading are when you come across something - a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things - that you'd thought special, particular to you. And here it is, set down by someone else, a person you've never met, maybe even someone long dead. And it's as if a hand has come out, and taken yours.」「History is a commentary on the various and continuing incapabilities of men. What is history? History is women following behind with the bucket.」