To establish any mode to abolish war, however advantageous it might be to Nations, would be to take from such Government the most lucrative of its branches.

To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.

The World is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion.

A body of men holding themselves accountable to nobody ought not to be trusted by anybody.

He who dares not offend cannot be honest.

[A]ll churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Muslim, are simply human inventions. They use fear to enslave us. They are a monopoly for power and profit.

If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace.

The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.

Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.

Religion is a history of wickedness that has served to corrupt and brutalize humankind; and, for my part, I sincerely detest it as I detest everything that is cruel.

Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.

Reality ground my expectations into microscopic particles.

Until the end of time, living happily will remain your sole responsibility on earth.

I have never been able, really, to regret anything in all my life. I have always been far much too absorbed in the present moment or the immediate future to think back.

I would make far more money if every song were my own, but I don't write to fill up the album with my songs.

There is something about Midwest in general, that has kind of an underdog quality.

Everybody wants to get along with everyone else in the sandbox. I'm that kind of kid, you know what I mean? That will never change about me.

I read my own books sometimes to cheer me when it is hard to write, and then I remember that it was always difficult, and how nearly impossible it was sometimes.

In the long-run, the best proof of a good character is good actions.

Somebody who's designing something for himself has at least got a market of one that he's very close to.

You ought to let the Jews have Jerusalem; it is they who made it famous.