Henry James would have been vastly improved as a novelist by a few whiffs of the Chicago stockyard.

Love is like war: easy to begin but very hard to stop.

On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.

The demagogue is one who preaches doctrines he knows to be untrue to men he knows to be idiots.

The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.

Morality is doing what is right, no matter what you are told. Religion is doing what you are told, no matter what is right.

Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.

Democracy is a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance.

The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule.

It is inaccurate to say that I hate everything. I am strongly in favor of common sense, common honesty, and common decency. This makes me forever ineligible for public office.

Democracy is also a form of worship. It is the worship of Jackals by Jackasses.

i have never advocated war except as a mean of peace

How wise should we be if, with joyful certainty, we accepted each unfolding of His will as a proof of His faithfulness and love!

What can be more foolish than to think that all this rare fabric of heaven and earth could come by chance?

He has everything a boxer needs except speed, stamina, a punch, and ability to take punishment. In other words, he owns a pair of shorts.

We met with the poet Frank O'Hara, who was a link between Upper and Lower Bohemia, and who worked at the Museum of Modern Art, where we had hoped to do the readings.

For the night was not impartial. No, the night loved some more than others, served some more than others.

It's my singing that allows me to stand apart.

The pint would call the quart a dualist, if you tried to pour the quart into him.

Wood burns faster when you have to cut and chop it yourself.

To make a fine gentleman, several trades are required, but chiefly a barber.