It is now conventional wisdom that Americans do not care why we went to war in Iraq that it is enough that the world is better off without Saddam Hussein.

Authority without wisdom is like a heavy ax without an edge fitter to bruise than polish.

However great an evil immorality may be we must not forget that it is not without its beneficial consequences. It is only through extremes that men can arrive at the middle path of wisdom and virtue.

The Divine wisdom has given us prayer not as a means whereby to obtain the good things of earth but as a means whereby we learn to do without them not as a means whereby we escape evil but as a means whereby we become strong to meet it.

No one ever found wisdom without also being a fool. Writers alas have to be fools in public while the rest of the human race can cover its tracks.

But what is liberty without wisdom and without virtue? It is the greatest of all possible evils for it is folly vice and madness without tuition or restraint.

No party has a monopoly on wisdom. No democracy works without compromise. But when Governor Romney and his allies in Congress tell us we can somehow lower our deficit by spending trillions more on new tax breaks for the wealthy - well you do the math. I refuse to go along with that. And as long as I'm President I never will.

When I celebrated my bar mitzvah there was no cake. Today there is no such thing as a bar mitzvah in the United States without a special cake. It can be even more complicated and expensive than a wedding cake because bar-mitzvah cakes are often based on a particular theme.

I don't think it's possible to have a wedding without it being stressful!

In short it may be said that on paper the obligations to settle international disputes peacefully are now so comprehensive and far-reaching that it is almost impossible for a state to resort to war without violating one or more solemn treaty obligations.