Fact be vertuous, or vicious, as Fortune pleaseth

A democracy is no more than an aristocracy of orators. The people are so readily moved by demagogues that control must be exercised by the government over speech and press.

The condition of man... is a condition of war of everyone against everyone.

Government is necessary, not because man is naturally bad... but because man is by nature more individualistic than social.

Hell is truth seen too late.

Humans are driven by a perpetual and restless desire of power.

The right of nature... is the liberty each man hath to use his own power, as he will himself, for the preservation of his own nature; that is to say, of his own life.

How could a state be governed, or protected in its foreign relations if every individual remained free to obey or not to obey the law according to his private opinion.

Life in the state of nature is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.

It is not wisdom but Authority that makes a law

Curiosity is the lust of the mind.

Does the walker choose the path, or the path the walker?

For the being, maybe. But for the spirit, there are no quick sands.

Beware of the wronged Genius

The process of editing is what I enjoy most - putting the pieces together and making sense out of them.

It's never too late with truth. It stands outside time.

If people had no fear, you'd hardly need to have to teach them. It's the fear that screws everything up.

Each one of us should lead a life stirring enough to start a movement.

Writers' communities are very helpful to writers because it gives them a way to try out their stuff short of publication.

I'm running on adrenalin when we're shooting. It's non-stop. As soon as I have time to sit down, then I fall asleep.

A dinner invitation, once accepted, is a sacred obligation. If you die before the dinner takes place, your executor must attend.