Talent is a gift which God has given us secretly, and which we reveal without perceiving it.

It is necessary from the very nature of things that power should be a check to power.

The deterioration of every government begins with the decay of the principles on which it was founded.

We receive three educations, one from our parents, one from our school-masters, and one from the world. The third contradicts all that the first two teach us.

There is no crueler tyranny than that which is perpetuated under the shield of law and in the name of justice.

Every man who has power is impelled to abuse it.

In the state of nature... all men are born equal, but they cannot continue in this equality. Society makes them lose it, and they recover it only by the protection of the law.

A nation may lose its liberties in a day and not miss them in a century.

For a country, everything will be lost when the jobs of an economist and a banker become highly respected professions.

Liberty... is there only when there is no abuse of power.

Knowledge humanizes mankind, and reason inclines to mildness; but prejudices eradicate every tender disposition.

Often times, the greatest peace comes of surrender.

I took my .38 out and looked to see that there were bullets in all the proper places. I knew there would be, but it did no harm to be careful. And I'd seen Clint Eastwood do it once in the movies.

I can hit it farther on the moon. But actually, my swing is better here on Earth.

Evolution of mankind is paralleled by the increase and expansion of consciousness.

Easy mind, light heart. A mind that is too easy hides a heart that is too heavy.

He who understands the wise is wise already.

This isn't a war," said the artilleryman. "It never was a war, any more than there's war between man and ants.

Confusion and mistakes come when we forget the importance of God's word as our unwavering guide.

In Rome people seem to love with more zest, murder with more imagination, submit to creative urges more often, and lose the sense of logic more easily than in any other place.

One half of my head, from the top of my skull to the cleft of my jaw, hammers, bangs, sizzles while the other half, serene and content, looks on at the agony next door.