The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into the magic aura are not dealt with rationally but by a specific type of pseudo-reasoning. Absurdities and contradictions are made acceptable by specious rationalizations.

History knows no scruples and no hesitation. Inert and unerring, she flows towards her goal. At every bend in her course she leaves the mud which she carries and the corpses of the drowned.

One question that people always ask at home is never asked here: "What happened to Communism in Russia?" Everybody yawns when a visitor brings it up, because the answer is so obvious to every Russian. The answer is that there never was Communism in Russia; there were only communists.

Space-ships and time machines are no escape from the human condition.

Einstein's space is no closer to reality than Van Gogh's sky.

If the creator has a purpose in equipping us with a neck, he surely would have meant for us to stick it out.

If power corrupts, the reverse is also true; persecution corrupts the victims though perhaps in subtler and more tragic ways.