And if there were a God, I think it very unlikely that He would have such an uneasy vanity as to be offended by those who doubt His existence

The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.

The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts.

The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.

Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.

Men are born ignorant, not stupid. They are made stupid by education.

An Honest politician will not be tolerated by a democracy unless he is very stupid ... because only a very stupid man can honestly share the prejudices of more than half the nation.

If there were in the world today any large number of people who desired their own happiness more than they desired the unhappiness of others, we could have a paradise in a few years.

We have in fact, two kinds of morality, side by side: one which we preach, but do not practice, and another which we practice, but seldom preach.

The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd.

Cruel men believe in a cruel god and use their belief to excuse their cruelty. Only kindly men believe in a kindly god, and they would be kindly in any case.

I've learned that it doesn't matter how your husband squeezes the toothpaste, the important thing is how he squeezes you.

Hope is the boat we ride to reach the shore of our desires.

When it comes to rapacious 19th century capitalism, my family's hands are clean.

The elasticity of imagination and compassion is what writing and reading promote.

If you want to write, you have to be willing to be disturbed.

Tell me I can't so I can show you I CAN!

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. When you find something at which you have talent, you do that thing (what ever it is) until your fingers bleed or your eyes pop out of your head.

The strangest thing about life is not its frightful cruelty, but that it can be gentle.

This war no longer has anything to do with knightly conduct or with the agreements of the Geneva Convention.

Moving around is good for creativity: the next line of dialogue that you desperately need may well be waiting in the back of the refrigerator or half a mile along your favorite walk.