Every heart that has beat strongly and cheerfully has left a hopeful impulse behind it in the world and bettered the tradition of mankind.

The imagination equips us to perceive reality when it is not fully materialized.

By going over your day in imagination before you begin it you can begin acting successfully at any moment.

Poetry is that art which selects and arranges the symbols of thought in such a manner as to excite the imagination the most powerfully and delightfully.

You'd have to have one hell of an imagination to completely make up a story but historians are very anal about what they think should be portrayed on screen. Thankfully they don't make movies we do.

I've always felt that what I have going for me is not my imagination because everyone has an imagination. What I have is a relentlessly controlled imagination. What looks like wild invention is actually quite carefully calculated.

And you know whether it's drama or comedy the best work is based on truth. It's just that with comedy the circumstances are just crazy-heightened and you have these crazy things thrown at you. But you still have to do it truthfully because that's where the humor comes from. So it's not that difficult to cross over.

Academics tend to have wonderfully infantile senses of humor.

The nation that complacently and fearfully allows its artists and writers to become suspected rather than respected is no longer regarded as a nation possessed with humor or depth.

Humor is the instinct for taking pain playfully.

I hope everybody's had fun because I've enjoyed my ride. I can tell you that. Now it's time to step aside and let some other young kid come in and win. Hopefully they will too.

My great hope would be that Quebec would realize itself fully as a distinct part of Canada and stay Canadian bringing to Canada a part of its richness.

At the end of the day my hope is that when the new Medicare- Prescription Drug Law gets up and fully running a lot more seniors will pay a whole lot less than they do today for their much-needed medications.

We use the word 'hope' perhaps more often than any other word in the vocabulary: 'I hope it's a nice day.' 'Hopefully you're doing well.' 'So how are things going along? Pretty good. Going to be good tomorrow? Hope so.'

I know we can't always know what medical surprises may happen during childbirth. But my hope is to go fully natural - no epidural no interventions. Wish me luck.

I can only speak for myself and hope people hear my words and see me on television speaking for myself. And hopefully they'll be able to make their own judgment. And at the end of the day I just want my work to speak for itself.

I have a five year-old son and a three year-old daughter. I want my son to have a choice to contribute fully in the workforce or at home. And I want my daughter to have the choice to not just succeed but to be liked for her accomplishments.

A novelist is like all mortals more fully at home on the surface of the present than in the ooze of the past.

It seems sensible to me that we should look to the medical profession that over the centuries has helped us to live longer and healthier lives to help us die peacefully among our loved ones in our own home without a long stay in God's waiting room.

On Sundays when I speak I hopefully give somebody something that they can use the next day at work or at home.

Our culture now wonderfully alchemically transforms images and history into artistic material. The possibilities seem endless and wide open.

Who has fully realized that history is not contained in thick books but lives in our very blood?

Thankfully President Obama has stood firmly behind women's health care issues by supporting coverage for contraception and reaffirming commitment to organizations like Planned Parenthood.

Well my view is that the insurance companies have done awfully well and spent a lot of money on a lot of things that don't have anything to do with health care.