Our beliefs are, however, often contrary to fact.

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.

Biography is history seen through the prism of a person.

If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25 cars that got 1, 000 MPG.

A culture without property, or in which creators can't get paid, is anarchy, not freedom.

What I'm above all primarily concerned with is the substance of life, the pith of reality. If I had to sum up my work, I suppose that's it really: I'm taking the pith out of reality.

I am an affirmative action hire.

Misery motivates, not utopia.

I think the primary message to the world is that the United States is going to remain the strongest military power in the world.

I have to finish it in order to know whether it deserves to survive.

Everybody loves vampire stories, and if there's one show in particular that's done really well, it just opens the door and the opportunity for more of those kind of stories to get through.

Cheech [Marine] on the other hand, met [Barack] Obama and he knew right away who Cheech was. So that should tell you something.