Washington (CNN) Justice Clarence Thomas' booming voice filled the Supreme Court chamber Monday afternoon, as he took time off from the last month of the term to give a wide-ranging talk and publicly question where the rumors of his retirement come from.

"People can say things about you and for you that have nothing to do with you," Thomas told an audience attending an event sponsored by the Supreme Court Historical Society in the ornate chamber.

"I enjoy being here, I enjoy my work," he said.

Thomas was never directly asked by the moderator, David Rubenstein, whether he planned to step down sometime soon, but the 70-year-old justice recounted that his wife had come down the stairs recently reading an account that he was planning to go.

"People just wanted me to know what I was going to do," he said.

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