"Are you accusing me of owning a television?"
"He who can see the maggots need not ask if the dog is dead."
"'Ignore the shadow cast by a passing vapor,' says Phonetes."
"You've always been sloppy with bibliography, haven't you?" demanded the beard. "Phonetes would have been utterly embarrassed to have said that."
"No matter. Truth needs no ascription."
"That statement is obviously the product of extensive reading and protracted thought. With a little more effort, no doubt you'll be able to announce that the sun shines on a clear day."
"I suppose you have never read von Hoch: 'I had always known what he said, but I did not live it until I heard it spoken.'"
"I reject that statement together with its sordid implications. It smacks of the grimy hands of utilitarianism. In a minute you'll be insisting that philosophy have practical consequences for berry pickers and children. Perhaps you would be happier as some sort of mechanic where you could get your hands on things, rather than as one who pretends to instruct youth."
"You and Sir Peter Poole, who was proud that he couldn't tell a hoe from a rake."
"Well, what of that? My profession is philosophy, and I look for truth, not for mud."