When I was a child . . . Only virtue was prized, virtue at the expense of intellect, health, happiness, and every mundane good.

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.

I know that touching you will be understanding my fingers for the first time.

No human can bury their past indefinitely. It’s only a matter of time before you crack.

Every failure made me more confident. Because I wanted even more to achieve things as revenge. To show that I could.

The creative urge is the demon that will not accept anything second rate.

If you meet with a system of theology which magnifies man, flee from it as far as you can.

I cannot get any sense of an enemy - only of a disaster.

Resignation is a quality of the saintly souls.

One of the greatest opportunities to live our values-or betray them-lies in the food we put on our plates.

Don't you find that the more you know, the more you don't know and can't ever learn because there's too much stuff out there?

To me, feeling good about yourself as you get older is all about your attitude - if you think you're old, you'll feel old.