“I don't perceive my role as a newsman at all. I'm a comedian from stem to stern.”

— 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.”

“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”

“He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life.”

“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.”