It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all doing direct the other way.
这是最幸运的年代，也是最倒霉的年代，这是智慧的年代，也是愚昧的年代；这个时期信仰与怀疑共存，这个时期光明与黑暗共存；这是希望之春，也是失望之冬；人们面前琳琅满目，但又一无所有；我们正直达天堂，我们正直通地狱。
对那些来访牛津大学的外国友人，我有一个坏消息，这里的人都很势利。有时候，英国以外的人会想象，势利是英国人特有的个性，来自那些乡间别墅和头衔爵位。坏消息是，并不只是这样，势利是一个全球性的问题，我们是个全球性的组织，这是个全球性的问题，它确实存在。势利是什么？，势利是以一小部分的你，来判别你的全部价值，那就是势利。
The purpose of our lives is to be happy.
There are no hard distinctions between what is real and what is unreal, nor between what is true and what is false.
