The modern man thinks that everything ought to be done for the sake of something else, and never for its own sake.

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.

Friendship provides the ideas, tools, comfort, and motivation that nothing else can give or offer.

Luce blushed. "Then what kind of angel are you?""I'm sort of in between gigs right now, " Daniel said.

Because I'm short and slim, I can identify with somebody who's an unlikely fit for something and desperately wants to be part of it.

A place like Sound City, which was just a big, beautiful room where you would hit record and capture the sound of the performer - a place like that isn't necessarily in demand anymore.

When I see a large group of people, I wonder how many of them will eventually require autopsies.

I always watch rushes. They give me a sense of whether I'm going in the right direction. You work hard and hopefully get encouragement from what you see.

If you will just start with the idea that this is a hard world, it will all be much simpler.

Disillusionment is not truth.

The worst of all human ailments: indecision.

You can see over time whether people are prepared to differ or not.