mordant wit

"...Your past is your inalienable property, you cannot deny it, and, for better or for worse, it will shape the rest of your lives until death follows. In a sentimental moment, you may long for the lost innocence and bliss of ignorance, but that ignorance is lost forever: you are now Bachelors and you will have to carry the burden of your college education every waking hour of the rest of your lives, nay, even in your sleep you will be pressed to have dreams full of responsibility. A main purpose of this commencement speech is therefore to help you to live with your academic past: I'll try to give you some advice on how to remember your university...."

Edsger Dijkstra on universities on December 8, 1996 Edsger Dijkstra addressed the graduates of the College of Natural Sciences of the University of Texas at Austin.