The victory of liberalism enables them to sue their victors.

History is not merely what happened. It is what happened in the context of what might have happened.

To find agreements in one's minority opinions is one of the great pleasures of reading.

Summation of Leviathan: "The axiom, fear; the method, logic; the conclusion, despotism."

The function of genius is not to give new answers, but to pose new questions which time and mediocrity can resolve.

Beauty will be convulsive or will not be at all.

Books. The reading, writing and cultivation of books is my form of meditation. The books in my life have brought me closest to divinity.

In self-defense and in defense of the innocent, cowardice is the only sin.

As technology advances in complexity and scope, fear becomes more primitive.

Knowledge is free at the library. Just bring your own container.

Don’t judge me for escaping the stresses and cruelty of the world differently than you do.

I do think that stand-up comedy in general heavily favors masculinity and so I like to act a little feminine onstage.

Literature: proclaiming in front of everyone what one is careful to conceal from one's immediate circle

One principle must make the universe a single complex living creature, one from all.

I may cause someone to feel badly, not because I'm doing something to them, but because the way in which I see might cause pain. But I am not doing the hurting.