“Don’t let me get away with anything. Don’t try to play my game. Be real. Be passionate. Hold your ideas. Give me resistance. Give me traction I can work against.”

— Stephen Colbert, Harvard University: A Conversation with Stephen Colbert (1 December 2006)

About Stephen Colbert

Born 1964

American comedian and television host.

“Don't be afraid to be a fool. Remember, you cannot be both young and wise.”

“Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it.”

“Cynics always say no. But saying yes begins things. Saying yes is how things grow. Saying yes leads to knowledge.”

“It isn't enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work at it.”

“He is the greatest artist who has embodied, in the sum of his works, the greatest number of the greatest ideas.”

“Work first and then rest. Work first, and then gaze, but do not use golden ploughshares, nor bind ledgers in enamel.”

“The electron is a theory we use; it is so useful in understanding the way nature works that we can almost call it real.”

“We shall make mistakes; and if we let these mistakes frighten us from our work we shall show ourselves weaklings.”

“I still believe that when people really make the effort to understand each other, the possibilities are limitless.”