There are two ways of avoiding fear: one is by persuading ourselves that we are immune from disaster, and the other is by the practice of sheer courage. The latter is difficult, and to everybody becomes impossible at a certain point. The former has therefore always been more popular. Primitive magic has the purpose of securing safety, either by injuring enemies, or by protecting oneself by talismans, spells, or incantations.

A million million years gives us some time to prepare for the end . . . let us make the best of it.

The whiter my hair becomes, the more ready people are to believe what I say.

Prison is a severe and terrible punishment; but for me, thanks to Arthur Balfour, this was not so. I was much cheered on my arrival by the warder at the gate, who had to take particulars about me. He asked my religion, and I replied 'agnostic.' He asked how to spell it, and remarked with a sigh: 'Well, there are many religions, but I suppose they all worship the same God.' This remark kept me cheerful for about a week.

To expect a personality to survive the disintegration of the brain is like expecting a cricket club to survive when all of its members are dead.

The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd.

Curious learning not only makes unpleasant things less unpleasant but also makes pleasant things more pleasant.