The reasoning is classic in its clarity. If God does not exist, Kirilov is god. If God does not exist, Kirilov must kill himself. Kirilov must therefore kill himself to become god. That logic is absurd, but it is what is needed.

In order to understand the world, one has to turn away from it on occasion.

The principle can be established that for a man who does not cheat what he believes to be true must determine his actions.

In the world there is, parallel to the force of death and constraint, an enormous force of persuasion that is called culture.

Outside of that single fatality of death, everything, joy or happiness, is liberty.

The nobility of our calling will always be rooted in two commitments difficult to observe: refusal to lie about what we know, and resistance to oppression.

A free press can, of course, be good or bad, but, most certainly without freedom, the press will never be anything but bad.