Almost all rich veins of original and striking speculation have been opened by systematic half-thinkers.

If all mankind minus one were of one opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind.

Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservative.

War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse.

A person may cause evil to others not only by his actions but by his inaction, and in either case he is justly accountable to them for the injury.

To tax the larger incomes at a higher percentage than the smaller, is to lay a tax on industry and economy; to impose a penalty on people for having worked harder and saved more than their neighbors.

One person with a belief is equal to ninety-nine who have only interests.

The only freedom which deserves the name is that of pursuing our own good, in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs, or impede their efforts to obtain it.

Originality is the one thing which unoriginal minds cannot feel the use of.

I have learned to seek my happiness by limiting my desires, rather than in attempting to satisfy them.

Liberty lies in the rights of that person whose views you find most odious.

I crossed a thousand leagues to come to you, and lost the best part of me along the way. Don't tell me to leave.

I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.

Art, I subsequently realised, is like that. It softens by association and implication. It renders the hard pliable. It creates gaps, gaping holes really, in possibility.

New day, new grace and new hope.

I feel like I changed hip-hop.

She remembered when they were kids and he'd caught the rock that the bullies had thrown at her. At six, she'd considered him a hero. At sixteen, she considered him a heartbreaker.

A new future requires a new past.

Yale has influenced the Central Intelligence Agency more than any other university, giving the CIA the atmosphere of a class reunion.

Persons who have no desire to live have a very slight chance of recovery. We can continue to extend to them our love, sympathy, and prayers; but ultimately we must respect a person's decision to die.

I'm fascinated by the deaths of stars and the havoc they wreak on their environments.