Inertia is the first law of history, as it is of physics.

A creative element is surely present in all great systems, and it does not seem possible that all sympathy or fundamental attitudes of will can be entirely eliminated from any human philosophy.

Cruel persecutions and intolerance are not accidents, but grow out of the very essence of religion, namely, its absolute claims.

Law must be viewed as a formless mass of isolated decisions.

Conservatism clings to what has been established, fearing that, once we begin to question the beliefs that we have inherited, all the values of life will be destroyed.

Let philosophy resolutely aim to be as scientific as possible, but let her not forget her strong kinship with literature.

Small groups or communities may be far more oppressive to the individual than larger ones. Men are in many ways freer in large cities than in small villages.

Again, both literature and philosophy work by appealing to certain reigning idols.

The picture which the philosopher draws of the world is surely not one in which every stroke is necessitated by pure logic.

Lastly, literature and philosophy both allow past idols to be resurrected with a frequency which would be truly distressing to a sober scientist.

Wisdom is not to be obtained from textbooks, but must be coined out of human experience in the flame of life.

Perhaps it would be simpler if you just did what you're told and didn't try to understand things.

All children are atheists, they have no idea of God.

In addition to unfinished business, some ghosts haunt so that they will be remembered.

Every five years, I like to do a big birthday party. I had my 45th birthday with 75 friends in Marrakesh, Morocco.

Opium teaches only one thing, which is that aside from physical suffering, there is nothing real.

The attempt to suppress an idea has always and everywhere proved a failure.

Nothing happened in the sixties except that we all dressed up.

My first acting role as a kid was on Freaks and Geeks.

A lot of my favorite artists are fashion icons.

O how unspeakable is this Sacrament which sets our affections ablaze with charity. ... It is the fulfillment of Christ's Mystical Body.