The prejudices of superstition are superior to all others, and have the strongest influence on the human mind.

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.

The truest treasure is a soul who believes in its own existence

You are amazing.

The true hero trains himself in silence.

Why did everyone send casseroles in times of crisis? Why didn't anyone ever send brownies and Jack Daniel's?

Sci-fi has just become an effects-fest, and the story has taken a back seat to all that eye candy. To me, that's not really storytelling; that's just showcasing the latest gadgetry.

Does one eat peanuts at a ball game?' 'It ain't hardly legal if you don't.

Persons famous in the arts partake of the immortality of princes, and are upon a footing with them.

Ty it well, and let it goe.

Genius is nourished from within and without.

Some people don't listen to my music because they say that I am an artist. And some don't want to go to my gallery shows, because they say I am a musician.