Where does XML fit into the Big Picture? This page will have any good quotes I find.
The lesson is that simplicity and flexibility beat optimization and power in a world where connectivity is key.
Applications need to be constructed out of coarse-grained components that can be dynamically loaded.
With XML we just wanted to replace ASCII.
Attributed (by Tim Bray) to Lauren Wood, OASIS
XML gives Java something to do.
Attributed to Jon Bosak, Sun
SGML is a solution looking for a problem.
Attributed to Tim Gill of Quark.
While a rose might smell just as sweet by any other name, every computer user knows that names intended for automatic processing must be spelled exactly and defined precisely.