This oration will be read five hundred years hence with as much rapture as it was heard. It ought to be read at the end of every century, and indeed at the end of every year, forever and ever.

Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.

There are two ways to conquer and enslave a country. One is by the sword. The other is by debt.

Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.

Always stand on principle even if you stand alone.

But a Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.

Power always thinks... that it is doing God's service when it is violating all his laws.

One useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three is a Congress.

The jaws of power are always open to devour, and her arm is always stretched out, if possible, to destroy the freedom of thinking, speaking, and writing.

There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty.

Children should be educated and instructed in the principles of freedom.

It is easier to change a man's religion than to change his diet.

Is it possible that my sons-in-law will do toilets? If we raise boys to know that diapers need to be changed and refrigerators need to be cleaned, there's hope for the next generation.

I was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma.

A book of mine is always a matter of fate. There is something unpredictable about the process of writing, and I cannot prescribe for myself any predetermined course.

He's my neophyte Downworlder to mock and boss around, not yours.

As Angelo discovered in Measure for Measure, nothing corrupts like virtue.

Pain is the doorway to wisdom and to truth.

Haven't you always been more than yourself? Haven't we all? We are none of us just one thing.

Premature optimization is the root of all evil in programming.

True adventure begins when everything goes wrong.