I've always argued that it is just as desirable, just as possible, to have philosopher plumbers as philosopher kings.

Ideals are an imaginative understanding of that which is desirable in that which is possible.

It's not like those other guys are plumbers. Not that I have anything against plumbers.

It's not like those other guys are plumbers -- not that I've got anything against plumbers. They were some of the most coveted high school players in the country. Those other guys are really good, too.

Aside from velcro, time is the most mysterious substance in the universe. You can't see it or touch it, yet a plumber can charge you upwards of seventy-five dollars per hour for it, without necessarily fixing anything.

It might be argued that genuine spontaneity is not really possible or desirable so long as printed scores of great works exist. All modern musicians are, for better or worse, prisoners of Gutenberg.