Every idol, however exalted, turns out, in the long run, to be a Moloch, hungry for human sacrifice.

Man has an almost infinite capacity for taking things and people for granted and thereby missing out on the pleasure of being grateful that things aren't worse and of praising and thereby lifting the spirits of others.

In life, man proposes, God disposes.

Consistency is contrary to nature, contrary to life. The only completely consistent people are dead.

That’s what the human brain is there for—to turn the chaos of given experience into a set of manageable symbols. Sometimes the symbols correspond fairly closely to some of the aspects of the external reality behind our experience; then you have science and common sense. Sometimes, on the contrary, the symbols have almost no connection with external reality; then you have paranoia and delirium. More often there’s a mixture, part realistic and part fantastic; that’s religion.

Idealism is the noble toga that political gentlemen drape over their will to power.

Henri IV's feet and armpits enjoyed an international reputation.