A free government with an uncontrolled power of military conscription is the most ridiculous and abominable contradiction and nonsense that ever entered into the heads of men.

There are men in all ages who mean to govern well, but they mean to govern. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters

Whatever makes men good Christians, makes them good citizens.

The contest for ages has been to rescue liberty from the grasp of executive power.

The most important thought that ever occupied my mind is that of my individual responsibility to God.

God grants liberty only to those who love it, and are always ready to guard and defend it.

The proper function of a government is to make it easy for the people to do good, and difficult for them to do evil.

If all my possessions were taken from me with one exception, I would choose to keep the power of communication, for by it I would soon regain all the rest

The inherent right in the people to reform their government, I do not deny; and they have another right, and that is to resist unconstitutional laws without overturning the government.

Justice, sir, is the great interest of man on earth. It is the ligament which holds civilized beings and civilized nations together.

Falsehoods not only disagree with truths, but usually quarrel among themselves.

How can the nation be mightier, without unity of its citizens?

At no time am I a quick thinker or writer: whatever I have done in science has solely been by long pondering, patience and industry.

Just as a man working with his tools should know its limitations, a man working with his cognitive apparatus must know its limitations.

Composition is frozen improvisation.

I'm not aggressive by nature and it was tough for me to make the transition to directing.

Copyright law is a dinosaur, ill-suited for the landscape of today's media.

Mama - Mama - I want so many things... I want so many things that they are driving me kind of crazy.

I love film, and I think it's so important for kids to be educated about films and real life subjects that films cover.

We must act together, as a united people... For the birth of a new world. Let there be justice for all. Let there be peace for all. Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all.

People say sometimes, "You work in the fastest-moving industry in the world." I don't feel that way. I think I work in one of the slowest. It seems to take forever to get anything done.