The average man gets his living by such depressing devices that boredom becomes a sort of natural state to him.

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.

God's grace is your inner strength.

How are the mighty fallen!

Nonetheless, so whether it's unconstitutional or not [for judges to overruling presidents], I leave to others.

This is only a small part of the totality. From this island earth we see only a fragment of creation and its knowledge.

There is no meditation without wisdom, and there is no wisdom without meditation. When a man has both meditation and wisdom, he is indeed close to nirvana.

Take an object. Do something to it. Do something else to it.

I hated school right away. Religion had a lot to do with it because I felt like everybody was always lying to me.

We need, in love, to practice only this: letting each other go. For holding on comes easily; we do not need to learn it.

I have one piece of advice for those of you who want to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award: Start early!

Happiness is the ability to move forward, knowing the future will be better than the past.