His eminence was due to the flatness of the surrounding landscape.

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.

Art forms that appeal to [leftists] tend to focus on ... defeat and despair ... as if there were no hope of accomplishing anything through rational calculation.

What good is the present if you cannot change the future?

Some people spend so much time worrying about what might happen that they never enjoy what is happening [now] . . . Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.

Away from the safety of your home, the universe was not made for your convenience.

When one is a stranger to oneself, then one is estranged from others, too.

Man is stupid, phenomenally stupid.

My sorrows are overwhelming, but my virtue is left to me.

If the going is getting too easy, maybe you're going downhill!

Fear is the strongest prison and courage is the only way out!

It gives a man character as a poet to have a daily contact with a job. I doubt whether I've lost a thing by leading an exceedingly regular and disciplined life.